THUNDER BAY – City council will get yet another attempt next week to get the stalled designated truck route kicked into gear.
An amended version of the proposed bylaw, which introduces weight restrictions to detour heavy truck traffic onto the provincial highway network rather than travelling on Dawson Road and Arthur Street to enter and exit the city, is scheduled to be presented to Thunder Bay city council on Monday night, potentially moving one step closer to finally reaching a final decision.
City council in January approved steering the heavy truck traffic off those roadways. That decision was later ratified in March, though both were carried with just a one-vote margin.
The next step in the process – formalizing and implementing the bylaw – was sent backwards in June when it was defeated by with opposing votes cast by Mayor Bill Mauro, Coun. Mark Bentz (At-Large), Coun. Rebecca Johnson (At-Large), Coun. Brian McKinnon (Red River), Coun. Kristen Oliver (Westfort) and Coun. Peng You (At-Large). Those six all remained consistent with their ratification vote, while Coun. Brian Hamilton (McKellar) also swung against after previously voting in favour.
The rejection of that proposed bylaw does not remove the previous direction made by council to have a designated truck route.
Coun. Trevor Giertuga (At-Large), who served five terms as the McIntyre ward councillor, has been the most vocal in the call to take heavy trucks off Dawson Road. At the June meeting, Giertuga criticized many of his colleagues, accusing them of deciding in the back room to shoot down the bylaw.
“The bylaw is just how we implement and enforce council’s direction,” Giertuga said on Thursday, adding that nine votes – a two-thirds majority – are required for the notice of motion to reconsider process to strike down the previous decision.
“That’s the process that needs to be taken if you don’t want this designated truck route. To just sit back, not vote and not give any input, is like taking your bat and ball – in my opinion – and leaving the diamond.”
Hamilton had initially planned to introduce a notice of motion to reconsider in July but subsequently had it pulled from the agenda prior to that meeting.
While travelling within the city, vehicles with a registered gross weight of more than 15,000 kilograms must remain along the designated route or provincial highway. To make deliveries or stops within the city, they must take the most direct route to and from their destination. The bylaw lists the Harbour Expressway between Fort William Road and Highway 11/17, Main Street between Fort William Road and Island Drive, and Island Drive between Main Street and 106th Street as the allowable route along city roadways.
The proposed revised bylaw includes exemptions for vehicles making multiple scheduled deliveries or pick-ups within city limits to not have to return to the route after each individual stop, alleviating concerns raised by the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce that local small businesses would be negatively impacted.
Other revisions include expanding the legal definition of driver to include owner, which city administration believes would increase the likelihood of compliance. It also makes the listed exemptions for city vehicles less specific for broader interpretation.
Giertuga said he hoped that the bylaw won’t be rejected to just serve as a stall tactic.
“I think the longer this goes on, the more months this drags on, the more silly council looks,” Giertuga said. “We’ve given direction to our chief administrative officer – (city manager Norm Gale) – and administration to implement this, and we’re making it hard for them.”
