The Designated Truck Route By-law is going back to the drawing board, but one City Councillor plans to get rid of the Route entirely.
Council once again voted not to accept the by-law that lays out how to enforce the Truck Route. The Designated Truck Route would direct heavy trucks onto Highway 11/17, and ban them from Dawson Road and Arthur Street.
McKellar Ward Councillor Brian Hamilton announced at Monday night’s meeting that he wants to start the process to reverse Council’s decision to establish the Route. That would mean filing a Notice of Motion to Rescind, and would need votes from nine Councillors to get rid of the Truck Route.
“I just can not confidently vote for this by-law at this time,” Hamilton said.
If the Notice of Motion fails, the by-law will come back to Council for a vote.
Hamilton was preparing to file a Notice of Motion to Rescind last July, but pulled the item from the agenda.
Council also voted to ask their legal team for advice on how to proceed.
McIntyre Ward Councillor Albert Aiello called Hamilton’s plan “very, very disappointing.”
“Yes, you can rescind it, and we can start it all over again, but I’m not sure that’s in the best interest of Council as a whole,” Aiello said.
“We did vote for a Designated Truck Route, [approving the by-law] is just a technicality. This is everyone’s opportunity who voted against it, to take a leadership role and shape the by-law so you are comfortable with it,” he added.
Councillor Mark Bentz was among those on board with scrapping the route entirely.
“I was waiting for a Motion to Rescind, because I think that’s the only way out of this mess, and implement some safety measures on those two roads to help those people [living along Dawson Road and Arthur Street]. Putting those trucks on the Expressway has serious safety concerns for many cities,” Bentz said.
Hamilton said he would bring the Notice of Motion to Rescind forward at the next available meeting, which is July 20th.
