A bylaw is being recommended that would add a weight restriction of 10,000kg to vehicles travelling on East Avenue.
This has been requested through several members of council, including McIntyre Ward Councillor Albert Aiello. Many residents, including those that back onto County Fair Mall, are being affected by these heavy vehicles in the form of noise and air pollution.
Kayla Dixon is the Director of Engineering and Operations with the city and explains the restrictions in more detail.
“Basically it’s just a weight restriction, and any vehicle that’s over that weight would not be allowed to travel on that road, unless they have a specific delivery along that road,” says Dixon. “Really the weight that we targeted will restrict things that are heavier then for example a furniture delivery truck type vehicle, so really targeting your large transport trucks.”
More measures beyond the weight restriction will be required to prevent the unnecessary travel of heavy trucks on East Avenue. This could include implementations such as a Designated Truck Route or amending a parking by-law to create new offences for heavy vehicles that are parking illegally on private lands.
If this is approved by council at Monday’s meeting, it would not be the first weight restriction on city streets in Thunder Bay.
“The city has an existing city load bylaw, where we restrict several streets within the city for other similar concerns we see, truck traffic travelling down a residential road for example,” explains Dixon. “There’s several roads along Dawson that are restricted to or limited to cut through traffic.”
Other concerns of residents living near County Fair Plaza include litter from drivers, trucks remaining idle for hours, and vehicles filling the parking lot.
There is currently no cost outline in the proposition, as funding for sign installation would be drawn from the approved operating budget.
