When Ontario government representatives are in Sault Ste. Marie next month to hear ideas from stakeholders on how it should allocate its infrastructure dollars, the City of Sault Ste. Marie will have their ideas ready.
After all, having a helping hand from the province to upgrade or refurbish existing infrastructure and building new infrastructure to take the city into the future, is important.
Communities, businesses and residents in Northeastern Ontario will have the opportunity to have their voices heard as part of the province’s long-term plan to build roads, bridges, transit, hospitals and schools when a committee arrives in the Sault on July 16 to hear from local organizations.
The infrastructure consultations give stakeholders a chance to provide ideas to the province how to allocate the remaining $11.5 billion of a $15 billion investment outside the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area as part of Moving Ontario Forward, Ontario’s long-term plan to build critical infrastructure in communities across the province.
The remaining $3.5 billion has already been committed to items like connecting link funding, the Ring of Fire, creating natural gas lines and highway investments, said Sault MPP David Orazietti.
The funding is geared towards projects that demonstrate economic, social and environmental benefits and returns, he said.
“We intend on being there and filing a submission,” said Don Elliott, the city’s director of engineering.
“Having said that, in general, we are in favor of any program that will help us rebuild our infrastructure,” he said.
Elliott said the city is pleased with next year’s return of the connecting link funding, a program important to Sault Ste. Marie to access with its 24.5 km of connecting link roadway.
Traditionally, the connecting link program has funded infrastructure improvements and rehabilitation to provincial connecting roads for 75% of their costs.
This year, the final phase of the Second Line East widening comes with funding from the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund, a fund that had been accessed by the city to replace connecting link roadways.
Elliott said the province has already been made aware that the city will apply for the widening of Black Road from the new connecting link funding for next year’s priority project.
It’s also expected that municipalities and their MPPs will lobby for funding to four-lane the TransCanada Highway between Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie and eventually throughout Northern Ontario to the Manitoba border.
Sault MPP David Orazietti said he believes the four-laning of Highway 17 from the Manitoba to Quebec border is essential from an economic and safety perspective.
“That would mean huge economic potential and I always refer to the U.S. Interstate system which put places on the map that were small communities and the highway linked them in on a more significant transit system,” he said.
Municipalities are now also required to have an asset management plan as a pre-condition to applying for any infrastructure funding.
Provincial legislation required municipalities to develop a 10-year asset management plan that includes an inventory of city buildings, along with an evaluation of level of service and the infrastructure’s condition as well as future maintenance or replacement needs.
The plan is to be reviewed every three years and is required to be in place if municipalities apply for infrastructure funding. The plan is designed to show how proposed projects for funding fit within a municipality’s comprehensive plan.
The city’s plan shows the need for $27 million over the next 10 years to maintain its municipal buildings.
Orazietti said the province expects to have a wide variety of stakeholders make submissions at the roundtable or provide feedback online.
“We want to make sure that there is regional input to ensure that we’re meeting the local needs and priorities of all the communities in Ontario,” Orazietti said.
Ontarians can also provide feedback online or in writing by Sept. 18.
The one-day consultations will also be held in Timmins and Sudbury.
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