London’s mayor has suggested it’s time to begin talks with the province and neighbouring municipalities, revisiting the idea of a ring-road for the city in a bid to ease congestion.
The proposal comes as the warden of Middlesex County has responded to a London city councillor’s overtures to annex communities to the city’s north.
“Maybe we’re going to have to start planning to be that regional large city, which we already are,” said Councillor Steve Lehman following a city council meeting last week.
It was enough to get the attention of civic leaders from those communities that could fall within London’s grasp.
In an interview with CTV News, Middlesex Warden Brian Ropp was quick to shut the idea down.
“I don’t have the particulars on that. They may come up, but I want to be clear that the county, Middlesex County, has no intentions or no desire to talk about amalgamation or annexation at this time,” Ropp insisted.
Lehman contended that residential sprawl in communities around London puts pressure on the city’s infrastructure, leaving London tax-payers to foot the bill.
“[It’s] people that live outside of London coming in and using London services,” he explained.
In the meantime, the idea of a ring-road, potentially to the city’s north, was debated at Tuesday’s meeting of London City Council’s Strategic Priorities and Policies Committee.
Lehman says most of the highway infrastructure is already in place for a ring-road.
“We’ve got Veterans [Memorial Parkway] to the east side, we’ve got [Highway] 401 on the south. We have [Highway] 402 on the southwest. Why not consider getting the fourth part of that with the north-south route tying into the 402,” he said.
London Mayor Josh Morgan said it may be in everyone’s interest to go down that road, but it would have to involve the province.
“There’s a discussion to be had with neighbouring municipalities to see if they’re even interested in this. I think the engagement with the province is really a Ministry of Transportation assessment about whether they think that a provincial highway that links around the north of the city is most appropriate,” said Morgan.
Warden Brian Ropp declined to comment on the ring-road idea until a formal discussion begins.
A number of issues are expected to be up for discussion when officials meet face to face for a County City Liaison Committee meeting, which is scheduled for April 4.
