Thunder Bay to hear more feedback on proposed heavy truck routes

City administration in Thunder Bay, Ont., pulled a proposed vote on implementing new rules about where heavy trucks can and can't drive in the city from Monday's agenda, citing the need for more consultation.

It's not the first time that council was scheduled to vote on adopting new rules for large trucks before more feedback was required from the public. The restrictions would effectively limit vehicles like some dump trucks, tractor trailers and pulp and logging trucks to Highways 11/17 and 61, if they were passing through the city.

The city held a series of public consultations in February. Since then, Kayla Dixon, Thunder Bay's director of engineering and operations, said administration has received several more concerns from area businesses, primarily along three thoroughfares heading west of the city where restrictions would be in place, namely Dawson Road, Oliver Road and Arthur Street.

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"Some of the concerns, I feel, will just require communication on the wording and the intent of the bylaw to assuage some of those concerns but others may actually require some revisions," she told CBC News on Monday, ahead of the city council meeting where the vote was originally supposed to take place.

City staff announced the agenda change on June 1.

Of specific concern, Dixon said, appears to be the need for more clarity surrounding the issue of when oversized vehicles can use restricted routes. She said that vehicles will still be allowed to leave the designated truck route if their delivery schedule requires them to travel on other streets.

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"We need to be able to communicate to them that even through it's restricted, you have to get to your destination as a truck," she said.

The city has been attempting to establish a designated truck route for years. In 2017, a proposed set of ruleswas referred back to administrationfor further study after various concerns from businesses, members of the community and some city councillors. Since then, neighbouring municipalities have also raised concerns about what the changes to through traffic will mean for the number of trucks on their streets.

• Neighbouring municipality concerned over proposed truck route through Thunder Bay, Ont.

The city also received concerns from Resolute Forest Products, who owns the mill along Highway 61 just south of the city, about what the changes could mean for, what the company said, is the over 250 trucks that access the mill each day.

In a written release issued on June 1, city officials said they're working to bring the report containing the proposed bylaw changes back to city council as soon as possible.

Dixon added that further consultation with Ontario's Ministry of Transportation is also required, specifically around how the designated route which is made up of provincial highways will be made clear to drivers.

The city has proposed putting aside $10,000 for future budgets to cover costs of annual billboard rentals.

"I think it's a clarification issue as well as far as how the bylaw will be enforced," Dixon said, adding that it will be up to city police, as the restrictions will be within city limits.

"We certainly want to clarify what [stakeholders'] concerns are so that we can make sure that they're addressed."