The Maley Drive Extension has been identified as a priority road construction project since the 1980's. Below is a video portrayal of the route that the Maley Drive Extension will take.

VIDEO OVERVIEW OF MALEY DRIVE EXTENSION

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTvf3WNovOU&app=desktop

 

Every year we hear discussion about the importance of the Maley Drive Extension and how we need to press the provincial and federal levels of government to provide their 1/3 share of the project. When the initial proposal for funding to the other government leves was sent, the split was approximately $26.7 million each to fund the $80 million project.

The project now is projected to cost $126 million, leaving us at least $46 million short of the projected expenses. This is also a low estimate because it does not apparently include the extension of the Montrose Road connection which is needed in order to allow for housing developments in the north part of the city that will be opened up by the road.

In addition to actual road construction, back in 2012, staff has further broken down the plan to include $8 million for engineering and design costs, $6 million to relocate utility services, $15 million for Hydro One relocations and modifications, and $7 million to buy the required land. These costs have likely increased dramatically in the past couple of years.

SECTION BY SECTION BREAK-DOWN OF COSTS FROM 2012

http://www.northernlife.ca/news/localNews/2012/08/12-maley-drive.aspx

Greg Clausen, the former general manager of infrastructure last month, said in an interview that the Maley Drive project would take a lot of heavy trucks off city streets. He also claimed that it would take 10,000 cars a day off the Kingsway and Lasalle Boulevard. The main reason why the city would like to build the Maley Drive Extension is therefore to take the heavy trucks off Lasalle because there would be no reason why people from Valley East or New Sudbury would want to travel so far out of their way to use the Maley Drive Extension as an alternate to Lasalle Blvd. The only time it is congested is during rush hour and now that the corner of Lasalle and Notre Dame has been improved, much of that congestion to the Valley has been relieved.

The link below will take you to a map that shows some of the future road projects that are being proposed.

https://www.google.com/maps/ms?msid=210748339737170383846.0004da96f92f9f717ce83&msa=0&ie=UTF8&t=m&ll=46.524134%2C-81.01829&spn=0.175867%2C0.267705&source=embed&dg=feature

The link below will take you to an Environmental Study Report.

http://www.greatersudbury.ca/living/newsroom/public-notices/notice-environmental-study-report-addendum-maley-drive-extension-and-lasalle-boulevard-widening-public-comment-invited/

The following link will take you to a 178 page presentation that was made to City Council on April 17, 2014 with an explanation of the Development Charges that are being proposed and how the funds are being allocated.

http://www.greatersudbury.ca/.../2014%20Development...

On Page 149, you will see that the projected cost, according to the City, of the Maley Drive Extension project is over $125 million. They expect to receive $83 million in grants and subsidies, although the province and federal governments are only expected to come up with $53 million. The Net Municipal share of this cost is set at $41 million. But between 2009 and 2023, they expect to direct $9 million of this from general taxes and $33 million from development charges.

PROJECT WILL NEVER BE COMPLETED

It is becoming perfectly clear that the only reason why such a huge project, which will never receive the kind of funding we need from the other two levels of government, is still on the books is so that the development charges applied against new residential and commercial development is able to be maintained as high as it is today. If the Maley Drive Extension was taken off the books, it would reduce the development charge amount by about $33 million.

To see what I feel about development charges, CLICK HERE

So unless the City Staff can come up with some excellent reasons for keeping the Maley Drive Extension project on the books, I am in favour of eliminating this one project so that we can reduce the development charges that we are imposing on residential and commercial development. The charges are slowing down development in Sudbury and have become an unfair extra tax burden on new home owners and commercial developers.