Laurentian University's board of governors passed a motion at their meeting Friday saying they “see no advantage” to a secondary access road to the institution being proposed by the city.
The motion cites the university's environmental mandate and the fact that students use the land for field work and recreation as reasons for the position.
More than 1,500 people opposed to the road development have signed a petition on the Laurentian University Nordic Ski Club's website, www.laurentiannordic.com. They say the road will cross the ski trails several times.
“I just wanted to thank whoever it was that put this motion on gold paper, because it's a golden motion. I'm going to frame this one,” said Students' General Association president Luke Norton.
The motion also says the board of governor's property committee will hold consultations about the proposed road with students, faculty and interested community members.
The committee will then make recommendations to the board about what to do in the future about the proposed road.
The city's director of roads and transportation, Bob Falcioni, told Northern Life in November he'd be surprised if the road was built anytime in the next five years, given that it's already been on the books for 30 years. Council seems more interested in projects such as the Maley Dr. extension, he says.
Falcioni is conducting an environmental study in the area to see how the road would affect the ecosystem and existing development. It's an update of a similar study done in 1995.
