The Maley Drive project is much more than a road for trucks. It is the building block of the future of the City of Greater Sudbury and as such it should be welcomed by all residents.
The first phase of the Maley Drive extension will only happen if the Municipal, the Provincial, and the Federal Governments each put up $27 million for the $81 million project. This will link Maley Drive to the Lasalle extension and will take all of the heavy trucks off Lasalle Blvd. as well as a large number of heavy truck traffic off the Valley route along MR 80 and MR 15.
Once City Council endorses the project and the Federal government provides its share of the funding, we will finally be able to embark on this exciting chapter in the evolution of the City of Greater Sudbury.
As for the financial benefit of this project, if we do nothing, and decide to keep our $27 million to put towards road repairs and upgrading, the damage that the heavy trucks will continue to do to Lasalle Blvd., MR 80 and MR 15 will require far more in repairs than $27 million over the next twenty years.
And keep in mind that this is just to compensate for the damage that is being caused by the heavy trucks, not the normal wear and tear that needs to be repaired anyway.
By reducing the heavy truck traffic on the three roads, the City of Greater Sudbury will actually be saving much more than $27 million in future costs over the next 20 years for repairs just to maintain the status quo.
You don’t get much for 2 or 3 million when it comes to road repairs and replacement and if the trucks remain on those roads this will be the annual cost at the very least. So for this reason alone Maley Drive makes a lot of financial sense. We will actually save money by investing in Maley Drive.
Additionally, for many people in Valley East, the heavy trucks are doing much more than just damaging the roads. They are damaging the structural foundation and windows of houses that are up to one street away from MR 80 and MR 15.
Thousands of dollars of damage have already been caused by the trucks to individual houses along the route and as the years go by the structures will be further weakened and much more easily damaged.
The quality of life in the Valley is also being affected by the heavy trucks using this route. The noise of the trucks going by is constant, and the safety of vehicle drivers is being compromised by the presence of the heavy trucks.
One of the other main reasons we should be supporting the Maley Drive project is because once it is in place we will be able to build the Barrydowne Road extension to Hanmer and connect that road to Val Caron along Main Street.
Those two roads will basically eliminate most of the heavy trucks along MR 80 and MR 15, but more importantly, they will open up Valley East for further expansion as the preferred location for residential development in the northern portion of Greater Sudbury. It will be the second direct link to New Sudbury and will be of great value to residents of Capreol and Valley East.
Over 50 per cent of the population in the City of Greater Sudbury lives north of the line drawn by Lasalle Blvd. Over 50 per cent of the population growth evidenced in the last census took place in Valley East alone.
The northern half of the city is where a significant amount of residential development is taking place and in order to prepare for this growth it all starts with the Maley Drive Project.
So the Maley Drive project clearly satisfies the requirements of a good, solid business plan that is in the best interests of the citizens of the City of Greater Sudbury. This is definitely much more than a road being built for trucks.
Robert Kirwan is the city of Greater Sudbury councillor for Ward 5
