Regional transportation talks start - but don’t call it a ‘ring road’

City councillors and county leaders discussed traffic problems plaguing the region. CTV London's Daryl Newcombe has the details.

A face to face meeting between elected leaders of the City of London and Middlesex County included a frank discussion about the traffic problems plaguing the region, but mostly steered clear of using the words “ring road.”

“I’m not using the term ring road,” London Mayor Josh Morgan told the County City Liaison Committee.

He followed with a joke to lighten the mood ahead of a serious talk about regional mobility, “I was going to bring donuts today, but I thought that maybe that wouldn’t be a good idea [because of their shape].”

On Tuesday, council asked the mayor to engage with neighbouring municipalities and the provincial government about working collaboratively on a ring road and integrated transportation network to improve the movement of people, goods, and services through the region.

“We are all seeing a big increase of traffic, as [the county] grows and as the city grows,” said Middlesex County Warden Brian Ropp.

Colin Grantham, Mayor of Strathroy-Caradoc added, “The calls I am getting about traffic goes from the western edge of the county through Glencoe, all the way to the boundary of the City of London.”

“People do need to get to work, to access emergency services at hospitals,” said Middlesex County Deputy Warden Aina DeViet. “So, I think it might be a good idea to involve the communities that are going to be affected.”

There was unanimous support by the six-member committee to launch more formal discussions about an “integrated transportation network.”

Once the local municipalities agree on a transportation plan, the next step would be to contact the provincial government about funding the mega-project.

Recent ridership growth on the county’s bus system was cited as an important reason that an eventual solution shouldn’t be limited to a provincial highway passing north of London, linking to Veterans Memorial Parkway and Highway 401.

“We’ve got to figure out how to get people around, and we also have to figure out how to deal with [population] growth from a larger regional perspective,” Mayor Morgan told CTV News after the meeting.

Warden Ropp added, “All of us have a responsibility for agriculture land protection as well, we have to make sure that’s on the radar.”

The region’s growing pains are increasingly landing on the desks of city and county politicians.

A residential building boom underway in the communities of Kilworth and Komoka have exacerbated traffic congestion along Oxford Street West in London.

And recently city council sought to slow exurban residential growth by denying Middlesex Centre’s request to send more sewage to a treatment plant on Adelaide Street.

Ropp told city representatives that any projects included in an integrated transportation network would have to preserve farm land and maintain a sense that neighbouring rural communities remain separate from the city.

“The initial talk today allows staff to be involved and to go ahead with conversations,” the Warden said.

“There’s lots of options for moving people around. We have to have those conversations with the County about what is the best one, or what combination is best, and where the province plays a role,” emphasized Morgan.

It’s Middlesex County’s turn to arrange a date for the next meeting of the County City Liaison Committee.