9 years ago
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sudbury ·
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Newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in Northern Ontario to discuss the region’s infrastructure and spending plans budgeted for the often neglected part of the province. Northern Ontarians are often frustrated by the fact that government spending tends to be targeted to the more populated southern Ontario region.
Trudeau is predicted to be talking about budget and will be in Sudbury, a city that is a supporter of his liberal party. However, the city’s residents are equally worried by a lack of funding towards infrastructure in Northern Ontario, while the local government is hoping the central government will match the $26.7 million fund offered by the Ontario government.
The $80 million investment will go to completing the long planned for Maley Drive extension, while Trudeau has revealed plans for Sudbury in the past. During his election campaign, the then unelected politician promised $200 million for mining in the area.
The Trudeau government has garnered some criticism from within and without his party for its first budget, especially as it seemingly ignores the forestry sector.
“The idea of a Maley Drive extension is not new and it is a project that has a 30 year history, and now would cost $80 million to complete. The idea of the road is to create a semi ring around North Sudbury and add an east-west route to The Kingsway and Lasalle Boulevard, linking Frood Road and College Boreal to Falconbridge Highway.”
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9 years ago
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sudbury ·
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Greater Sudbury is at the center of the largest infrastructure project ever awarded in Ontario as Sudbury Liberal MPP Glenn Thibeault announced on Monday morning the Highway 69 project. The project will involve the four-laning of 14 kilometers of Highway 69 from north of Highway 607 to North of Highway 522, the work is budgeted for $173.4 million.
The project will be the largest infrastructure operation ever seen in the province and will involve the construction of 10 bridges and two exchanges, including four major structures over the Pickerel and French rivers. J & P Leveque Brothers Haulage Ltd. of Bancroft will helm the project and will take five years to complete the work.
Another project linking Highways 64 and 607 will open later in 2016 and it will eventually be linked to the completed Highway 69 project announced today. The idea is to create a four lane ribbon of road that will connect Greater Sudbury with Toronto, and Thibeault said at the OPP headquarters that negotiations to complete other sections of the route are still ongoing. After the completion of this project there will still be 68 kilometers of Highway 69 that need to be expanded to four lane roads.
“We’re getting closer and closer, each and every day, every time a shovel goes in the ground,” said Thibeault.
The Highway 69 project announced on Monday will begin this winter, with workers clearing land in preparation for construction to start in the spring. The provincial government promised to complete the entire Highway 69 route between Sudbury and Toronto by 2021 and says it remains on course to meet its deadline.
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9 years ago
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sudbury ·
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Uber’s rise in Canada caught governing and regulatory bodies off guard and there has been a scramble to sort out the mess. Greater Sudbury is being urged to avoid such confusion by preparing in advance for the UberX service to arrive in the city.
Ward 9 councilor Deb McIntosh thinks the situation seen in other jurisdictions can be avoided and is pressing Greater Sudbury to prepare now. She has tabled a motion that would see the city’s current taxi bylaws assessed to gauge how the arrival of Uber in the Sudbury area could affect the city. She has called for the city staff to report back in spring with their findings.
Over the last year Uber has risen in Canada’s major cities, most of the time receiving a less than warm welcome when doing so. Regulators were caught off guard and the result sees Uber Canada operating without any regulatory license, its drivers effectively operating illegally and without sufficient auto insurance.
While the country is slowly moving towards accepting Uber, it is clear that when the ride-sharing service enters a new market it brings plenty of discord with it. McIntosh thinks this could be avoided in Great Sudbury.
“I’m hoping to avoid what’s happening in other cities,” McIntosh told the Sudbury Star. “That was the instigation for me to put this motion forward, to prevent conflict. I wanted us to be proactive rather than reactive and just waiting until it gets here.”
Uber’s expansion in Canada has been rapid and the service is currently available in 12 cities around the country, with a focus in Ontario. The U.S. based company said there are no plans to expand to Sudbury, but it seems covering the entire province is a logical goal.
“While we don’t have specific launch plans for Sudbury at the moment, I can tell you that Uber aims to expand to communities across Canada and we’re always looking at what’s next,” said Susie Heath, an Uber representative.
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