A public meeting was held at the Kitchissipi United Church on Island Park last night regarding the possible closure of a highway 417 on-ramp.
The Ministry of Transportation says the closure would address safety concerns at the ramp.
The onramp to the eastbound lanes of the Queensway is located between the Westgate Mall and the Queensway Bridge over Carling Avenue.
The closure of the eastbound ramp would close down when the Queensway is widened in that area.
The province plans to widen the Queensway between Maitland and Island Park and when this change occurs, the merge lane will become a travel lane.
“Ideally we take out this ramp and we extend the Kirkland ramp so people have enough room to accelerate” says MTO Area Manager Frank Vanderlaan.
The area councillor and many residents are worried closing the ramp could lead to increased congestion on Parkdale and Knoxdale. It could then become a much bigger issue if a massive redevelopment of Westgate mall is approved.
Some residents are concerned about the additional vehicles flowing toward the Kirkwood on-ramp.
“We already have a problem with traffic coming down Kirkwood or Merivale very quickly anyway” said one local resident, “ but cutting through those side streets and I don't imagine people will make three left turns to get to that on ramp. I imagine they'll be cutting through some of those neighborhoods.”
The MTO will review some of the feedback from residents and likely make a final decision on a plan of action for the carling on ramp in the fall.
