Walker / Wyandotte Reconstruction Moving Swiftly; Ban Big Trucks Gaining Momentum

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Reconstruction at the intersection of Wyandotte Street East and Walker Road is moving along at a fast pace.  Construction company J & J Lepera has completed much-needed plumbing work, decorative sidewalks dot the landscape, and the roadway along Wyandotte has been freshly paved with concrete.

Plenty of work remains at the oft-busy intersection.  While motorists find alternative routes around the area, construction workers continue to repave and adjust the roadway, installing new ‘smart’ traffic lights and dedicated left turning lanes.

The Federal and Provincial governments are picking up a good chunk of the tab on this project, each tossing in eight-hundred and thirty-two-thousand dollars as part of Canada’s Infrastructure Stimulus Funding.  The City of Windsor ponied up over two million dollars to push the project up to $3.8 million.

When complete — short months from now — Wyandotte Street will carry the familiar Walkerville Business Area theme down to Walker Road with decorative light posts and descriptive signage.

Meanwhile, area shopkeepers and residents are breathing fresh air — as no transport trucks have passed through the district since construction began.

Elaine Weeks, the mind behind the area’s hugely successful Walkerville Times publication that was delivered monthly to Windsor homes a number of years back, has started a campaign to keep big rig trucks off of Wyandotte Street and far from Walkerville.

The campaign seeks to prove that 18-wheelers, now unable to use Wyandotte due to construction, are traveling along routes that are more suited to their purpose (such as EC row).  If big rigs are utilizing other routes with no issues, backers of the ban hope that trucks can be forced to take such routes indefinitely.

A Facebook group dedicated to the venture has 311 members, an online petition has 72 total signatures and countless numbers of people have signed the paper petition at area businesses.

Weeks and other supporters are urging concerned citizens to make their feelings known to city councillors in hopes of extending the roadway’s serenity well-past the current construction.

Check out the Facebook group here.
And sign/view the online petition at this link.