Advocacy for sidewalks along Notre Dame Street has continued in Azilda, where community members are pushing alongside Ward 4 Coun. Pauline Fortin to get something done.
“This is the main artery in town,” Fortin told Sudbury.com. “There’s no way to access anything in Azilda without driving on Notre Dame, and there’s very, very little sidewalk; just right in the middle.”
Earlier this week, Fortin tabled a successful motion in council chambers to have city administration draft a report on pedestrian safety enhancements along Notre Dame Street West, for city council consideration during 2024 budget deliberations.
The motion piggybacks on a previous report provided to city council earlier this summer, which highlighted active transportation options for Notre Dame Street East, from Municipal Road 55 by the Tim Hortons, to St. Thomas Street to the west.
For this eastern leg, staff has recommended the installation of a two-metre paved shoulder with an edge line, at a cost of approximately $3.5 million.
A three-metre multi-use path installed behind the ditch on the south side would require “significant property acquisition as well as utility relocations,” according to the report, and come at a cost of approximately $7.8 million.
Urbanization would require a barrier curb and storm sewer, and include a 1.5-metre sidewalk and 1.5-metre cycle track on both sides. The preliminary estimated cost for this option is $10.8 million.
“Current best practices indicate that a paved shoulder is an appropriate active transportation facility for a road like Notre Dame Street East,” the report concludes. “However, as with all capital projects, city council ultimately has the final decision on the scope of approved projects and may direct staff to change the scope as it sees fit.”
Paved shoulders just won’t do, area resident Reina Bélanger told Sudbury.com, noting, “We want sidewalks.”
A couple years ago, Bélanger went door knocking in the neighbourhood and helped compile a petition of more than 1,000 names of people who want sidewalks along Notre Dame Street.
“The whole Notre Dame, really,” she said. “It’s our main street, the ditches are very dangerous ... They’re very steep.”
The existing paved shoulders are crumbling, she said, forcing people to walk on the street, which is a “very dangerous” endeavor.
“On the east side they don’t even have a paved shoulder, and the side of the street goes down,” she said. “So, if you want to walk to Tim Hortons, you can’t, it’s really terrible.”
The current push for sidewalks began in earnest in late 2021, when the Azilda Community Action Network tabled a 672-name petition calling for active transportation accommodations along Notre Dame Street.
In February 2022, the city recommended the installation of paved shoulders to accommodate pedestrians and cyclists, which was the focus of an Azilda Community Action Network meeting the following month, and the ongoing push for the city to install sidewalks instead.
Although advocacy has been focusing on Notre Dame Street East, this week’s motion by Fortin brought Notre Dame Street West into the fold, between Montée Principale and Champlain Street.
With seniors buildings and other high-density users located along this western leg of Notre Dame Street, Fortin said a sidewalk would be put to good use.
“Hopefully we’ll come back with a good price and some plans and we can figure it into the budget,” she said. “We can’t just keep going the way we are. I’m very concerned for the residents.”
In the meantime, Notre Dame Street West is likely to receive an automated speed trap camera, as a stretch from Leo Street and Rayside Avenue is listed as No. 12 in the city’s list of priority locations.
The city is receiving six automated speed enforcement cameras this year, which will shift between locations on a four-month cycle. At the latest update, they were expected to be functional by September.
The city’s next round of budget deliberations will take place in December, and will follow city administration tabling their draft budget, following city council direction, on Nov. 15.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
