Mayor Greg Wilson
Ontario Ministry of Transportation is reaching out to local municipalities asking them how the MTO can improve operations in the northwest.
A MTO Northwestern Ontario Operations Team was formed last July and is now engaging local leaders and residents on potential issues and opportunities.
Dryden Mayor Greg Wilson explains the mandate of the Team.
“Plays an integral role in the Ministries work on corridor management, emergency management, infrastructure preservation and protection, maintenance and operations. To secure a safe, continuous flow of people, goods and services to facilitate economic prosperity.”
Wilson says there is a heavy focus on winter maintenance and major/minor capital spending.
Wilson is encouraging residents and businesses to provide input by emailing: generalinquiries@dryden.ca
Feedback will be accepted until July 16.
He says the City will then be collecting all comments and include them in their briefing with provincial officials later this month.
Wilson talks about the biggest opportunity that he sees.
“For increased protection of our travellers would be a commitment by both the federal and the provincial governments to plan for the twinning of Highway 17 between Thunder Bay and the Manitoba boundary. We have to keep pounding our fists with Queen’s Park and the Feds on that.”
Wilson adds, “We must safeguard our Connecting Links funding. The province has really done an excellent job of administering this program for the benefit of northern municipalities and Dryden in particular over the last few years and we just want to see that maintained.”
