Thunder Bay's long awaited designated truck route bylaw back before council

CBC News

· Posted: Jun 02, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

Heavy trucks whitethorn soon find themselves constricted successful presumption of however they question done Thunder Bay.

The city's long-in-development designated motortruck way bylaw is going backmost earlier assembly connected Monday.

The bylaw, if yet approved by council, would bounds transport trucks to circumstantial roads successful the city.

The connection would prohibit the trucks from utilizing Highway 102 oregon Arthur Street; instead, they'd person to usage Highway 61 oregon Highway 11/17, and the Harbour Expressway, Main Street and Island Drive.

"Heavy trucks volition beryllium capable to question to immoderate transportation destination successful the City," the study to assembly states. "Trucks volition beryllium required to traverse arsenic acold arsenic applicable on the caller Designated Truck Route during a trip. They are required to usage the shortest imaginable region connected undesignated [c]ity streets to their extremity destination portion inactive adhering to the value restricted streets. Enforcement volition beryllium by Thunder Bay Police."

Coun. Andrew Foulds noted that assembly has already approved a designated motortruck route, but has yet to really walk the bylaw itself. The bylaw volition beryllium presented connected Monday, and councillors volition statement and marque a determination connected that astatine their June 23 meeting.

"I person been a protagonist of the designated motortruck way from the precise beginning," Foulds said. "I proceed to beryllium a protagonist of the designated motortruck route."

But, helium added, moving motortruck postulation to Highways 61 and 11/17 won't wholly destruct risk.

"Hwy 11/17 is built to a antithetic engineering standard," helium said. " This isn't a cleanable solution, but for me, the deciding origin was the reducing of risk."

Neebing Coun. Greg Johnsen, whose ward has Highway 61 arsenic its eastbound border, and includes a ample conception of Arthur Street West, said the designated motortruck way bylaw is "well overdue."

Concerns implicit motortruck postulation connected Arthur Street were among the archetypal things helium heard erstwhile helium was elected to council, Johnsen said.

"But I would suggest that this isn't conscionable an Arthur Street oregon Dawson Road, issue oregon ward issue," helium said. "This is simply a City of Thunder Bay issue."

"We person a road retired determination that the state has bought and paid for, if you will," Johnsen said. "The road operation is acceptable up to to woody with these dense trucks."

"It makes much consciousness to enactment this connected a roadway that tin grip it."

The bylaw is not without opposition, however. Surrounding townships and municipalities person each submitted written statements opposing the bylaw.

"On behalf of Council, I americium penning to explicit our steadfast absorption to the projected bylaw scheduled for information connected June 23rd, which would prohibit trucks from accessing Highway 102 and divert transport trucks to Highway 11/17 ," Oliver Paipoonge Mayor Lucy Kloosterhuis wrote. "This diversion would importantly interaction agrarian municipalities on the route, including the Municipality of Oliver Paipoonge, peculiarly the Village of Kakabeka Falls, wherever determination is an simple schoolhouse and a senior's home."

More trucks done Kakabeka

Kloosterhuis stated that a postulation survey done successful April 2018 revealed an mean of 869 "heavy trucks" utilized Highway 102 each day. A 2nd survey done a twelvemonth later showed an mean of 758 dense trucks utilized Highway 11/17 successful Kakabeka Falls each day.

"This information intelligibly demonstrates the city's diversion of motortruck postulation volition treble the fig of dense trucks traveling connected Highway 11/17 done Kakabeka Falls," she stated.

Conmee Mayor Sheila Maxwell said her assemblage is besides acrophobic astir the summation successful motortruck postulation should the bylaw pass.

"The occupation is we have ever had the agelong loads, the spot drivers, the log drivers, transportation trucks, wide loads, hazardous loads, they've ever travel done our township due to the fact that it's a flatter route," she said. "That colony is besides very, precise busy."

"Summertime, it's tourists, it's campers, it's hard for america locals even spell into businesses, to get retired onto the highway," she said. "Plus the schoolhouse buses person a hard clip getting retired with the kids."

'It's not the roadworthy itself'

Maxwell said determination are different issues erstwhile it comes to road safety and transport trucks successful the area.

"It's not the roadworthy itself," she said. "It's the drivers that don't person the due training, oregon the companies that are pushing them, oregon it's the vehicles."

"Directing that postulation done our municipalities, it's not the answer."

Maxwell said the projected Shabaqua Extension would code galore of the concerns the surrounding townships have, arsenic it would supply a way for trucks that don't question done places similar Conmee oregon Kakabeka.

"The overall extension volition link Thunder Bay to Shabaqua and is portion of the Ontario Highways Program," a Ministry of Transportation spokesperson said successful an email to CBC News. "The Preliminary Design duty for the archetypal conception of the Shabaqua Extension, from Thunder Bay to Kakabeka Falls, was precocious awarded to WSP. Work connected the Preliminary Design and Environmental Assessment volition statesman successful the coming weeks."

"As the preliminary plan progresses, operation timing and scheduling details volition beryllium developed."

McIntyre Coun. Albert Aiello, who's successful favour of the designated motortruck route, said colonisation density on and astir Highway 102 is growing.

And the trucking manufacture itself has changed implicit the years, arsenic well, helium said.

"The vehicles are lot bigger, they're heavier, they tin question faster, they're automatic," helium said. "Things person changed. And I deliberation we request to change."