The City of North Bay continues to expand its active transportation network with one project making significant progress in the city's west end and another wrapping up on Laurentian Avenue.
The active transportation aspects of the projects are being supported by the Ontario Municipal Commuter Cycling Program.
Commuters who frequent the Main Street West and Gormanville corridor can expect to continue to use the detour via Nipissing Street and Jane Street for the next month or so, despite hopes that phase of the project would be finished by the end of September.
"The work this year was always expected to take place over two to three months," advises City of North Bay Communications Officer Gord Young, but the timeline of the road closure has been slightly extended. "The roads involved are open to local traffic, but will not be fully reopened until the work underway wraps up."
Young says the work that began between Timmins Street and Gormanville Road in early September is expected to continue for the next month or so. Paving is expected to take place over the weekend, with landscaping and other restoration work to follow.
The part of the project due to be completed this fall includes the construction of two-way sections of multi-use pathways separated from the road by a curb. Also, a section of bike lanes will connect Gormanville Road to the Main Street West intersection and link up with the west end of the Kate Pace Way on Memorial Drive.
Young adds, "The remainder of the project will resume in the spring, including intersection improvements at Main Street West and the west end of Memorial Drive and a new signalized pedestrian/cyclist crossing near Timmins Street."
For more information about the project, including diagrams of the overall plan and its various sections, click here.
On social media, Coun. Marcus Tignanelli saluted the foresight of the City's engineering department in recognizing the long term Active Transportation Master Plan included cycling lanes along Laurentian.
"As much needed road resurfacing and drainage upgrades were already planned for this route it was the perfect time to utilize grants to add the cycling lanes to the scope of this project," Tignanelli posted.
See: Bike lanes pilot project to expand past Memorial Drive
And: City gets 'sharrow-minded' when it comes to active transportation
In addition to a sidewalk, new curbs, road and drainage work included in the larger capital project, the stretch of Laurentian Avenue connecting Trout Lake Road to the Northgate Shopping Centre now sports cycling lanes (see photos above) thanks to the Ontario Municipal Commuter Cycling Program.
