The Municipality of Wawa's looking into options to address traffic concerns in the Mission.
Wawa Municipal Council received a delegation from Mission resident Patricia Lalonde, raising a number of concerns regarding traffic in the Michipicoten River Village, particularly about the speed of vehicles - she proposed lowering the limit from 50 kilometres an hour to 35 kilometres an hour - as well as more than one vehicle on the single-lane bridges, vehicles passing improperly, and the number of heavy trucks going through the community, citing safety concerns but also dust and noise issues.
Slightly later in the meeting, Council was given a summary of a memo on these concerns, with Treasurer/Deputy Clerk Heather Rainville noting staff has been looking into these concerns and recommending Council refer this back to staff to further investigation options such as lowering the speed limit, weight restrictions, and alternate road routes, though there had been issues with the Tote Road - with multiple near collisions on the winding road with blind spots due to other vehicle, ATV, bike, or other traffic - and with the Tremblay Flats Road - due to a steep incline - and Rainville also noted some of these concerns may come back up again in the future with other projects, so it is better to try seeking a broader solution than just a project-by-project basis, which could include another route, but any solution is likely to have a cost.
Infrastructure Services Director Dan Beach did say he spoke with the contractor whose trucks were going through the Mission and was told they'd watch to ensure their drivers were only going 30 to 35 kilometres an hour through the area - and he assured the Mission bridges are designed for highway traffic, so the trucks are not a concern for those.
Lalonde suggested speed bumps on the road while Councillor Cathy Cannon dismissed the possibility of weight restrictions without a weigh scale, then asked about the possibility of posting "children at play" signs in the area - Beach said that could be done - Councillor Jim Hoffmann instead suggested the old rail bed could potentially be used for a new road, but acknowledged ownership could be an issue and Deputy Mayor Mitch Hatfield noted that would be expensive to build, as roads are quite expensive.
In the end, Council agreed to refer it back to staff to further investigate.
