The City of North Bay has extended to Nov. 11 the window for members of the public to provide input on the planned reconstruction of McKeown Avenue, including the widening of McKeown from Cartier Street to the Gormanville Road roundabout approach, and its transformation to an arterial roadway from the existing two-lane urban roadway. Pending council and budget approval, the construction phase will begin in 2023.
The preferred option is for the stretch of McKeown Avenue from Cartier to the roundabout to be widened to four lanes. This section will be the final part of McKeown to be brought up to an arterial standard. Although an initial environmental assessment completed in 1999 called for four lanes plus a centre left-turn lane as required roadway improvements, an updated traffic impact study performed in 2006 omitted the centre lane.
City staff noted in its report the "existing traffic volumes have reached or exceeded the available road capacity, which has accentuated the deteriorated road structure and corridor deficiencies resulting in unsafe travelling conditions."
In January, North Bay City Council awarded a $477,140 contract to R.V. Anderson Associates Limited for engineering consulting services for the design and environmental assessment amendment related to the reconstruction of McKeown Avenue.
It is this environmental assessment amendment on which the municipality seeks comment. In this report, stakeholders will find the rationale for proceeding with four lanes, as opposed to doing nothing or widening McKeown to five lanes, with a centre left-turn lane. An update to the 2006 traffic impact study is also required to confirm that the four-laning of McKeown Avenue is still the recommended design approach now that all vacant lands on McKeown Avenue have been developed. The amendment to the Environmental Study Report is required to ensure all requirements of the EA process have been satisfied.
Besides the construction of two new lanes, the scope of the project also includes reconstruction of the existing pavement, curbs, boulevards, sanitary sewer, and watermain, as well as storm sewers for the additional road width and added active transportation facilities such as multi-use pathways and sidewalks.
The recommended solution is to reconfigure this section of McKeown Avenue to four lanes.
Transportation Recommendations include:
- Widen roadway to four lanes;
- Introduce a new multi-use pathway to accommodate pedestrians and cyclists.
Stormwater Recommendations
- Install a new underground infiltration facility to accommodate road widening, in consideration of climate change.
Sanitary Sewer Recommendations
- The existing sanitary sewer is to be removed and replaced with larger diameter trunk main to accommodate current flows.
Social Environment Impacts
- Approximately 710 m² of property acquisition is required.
- Approximately 591 m² of easement is required to accommodate the underground infiltration facility.
Utility Impacts
Minimum relocation of utility poles is anticipated, and relocation of the underground Bell line may be required. No major impacts to the watermain or gas are anticipated.
Natural Environment and Climate Change Impacts
- Minor impact on existing trees due to widening.
- Minor impacts to aquatic environments from works adjacent to Pinewood Creek and from culvert works.
According to City of North Bay infrastructure engineer Reid Porter, field investigations have been completed "within the McKeown Avenue project study area, including fish habitat survey and community inventory, Ecological Land Classification (ELC) of vegetation communities within the road right-of-way (ROW), and targeted surveys for potential Species at Risk (SAR). No SAR habitat was observed.
"The results of the completed surveys identified that the widening of McKeown Avenue will result in the removal of a number of common, planted street trees, as well as the loss of small amounts of existing human-influenced vegetation communities (i.e. anthropogenic vegetation communities) to accommodate the additional width.
"No aquatic SAR were observed or have been recorded in the study area. Impacts on fish habitat as a result of the road widening are limited to an approximately 5-metre culvert extension and the associated loss of open-channel habitat. Measures implemented during construction, such as timing windows, site isolation, and erosion and sediment controls, are anticipated to mitigate temporary impacts to the surrounding vegetation, wildlife and fish habitats and communities."
The report notes mitigation measures will be further developed during detailed design, to reduce the severity and duration of any impacts.
Please provide your comments, questions or concerns by November 11 to:
Reid Porter
Infrastructure Engineer
City of North Bay
Phone: 705-474-4000 ext. 2304
Email: [email protected]
The McKeown reconstruction project has been approved for funding through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP): Rural and Northern Stream. Under this program, 83.33 per cent of eligible costs will be funded by the provincial and federal governments up to a combined maximum contribution of $4.166 million. The balance of the project will be funded by the City of North Bay. The most recent forecasted project cost is approximately $6.4 million. This is an estimate that includes design, construction, soft costs and contingencies but final costs will depend on bids once the project is tendered.
