THUNDER BAY — McKellar ward councillor Brian Hamilton was ready this week to move for cancelling truck bans proposed for Dawson Road and Arthur Street, but changed his mind at the last minute.
The implementation of a Designated Truck Route, forcing trucks to use Highway 11-17 and the Thunder Bay Expressway, is an issue Hamilton—and other councillors—have struggled with throughout the circuitous route the issue has followed at City Hall.
Most recently, he prepared a Notice of Motion seeking to eliminate the DTR plan from any further consideration.
In a memo prepared for this week's council meeting, he said "I believe we can work toward making roadways safer without an extreme traffic realignment. With council at an impasse, I think it is necessary to move forward by stepping back on our decision, regrouping as a council and determining what safety measures could be appropriate and achievable in this term."
In the end, however, Hamilton pulled his motion from the council agenda.
On Wednesday, he told a reporter he's now willing to take a look at an amended by-law, should one be presented.
The original by-law to implement the truck plan was voted down by a majority of council, including Hamilton, last month.
In two earlier votes, the McKellar councillor initially opposed the DTR scheme, then supported it.
His Notice of Motion this week would have triggered a vote to Suspend the Rules in an effort to put an end to the whole process.
If two-thirds of council approved, it would have opened the way for a vote—requiring a simple majority—to rescind council's original decision to establish a designated truck route.
