Headingley council starts LIP

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This article was published 25/11/2019 (2372 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In an effort to help Caron Road property owners and businesses access the Perimeter Highway, Headingley council is taking the first steps to set up a local improvement plan to pay for a new road.

Council approved first reading of the bylaw, to borrow the money needed to pay for a new local improvement plan to construct Rockall Road, at its Nov. 12 meeting. The project is estimated to cost $5 million with $2.5 million coming from the province, $1.25 million from the municipal reserve fund and S1.25 million borrowed over 10 years.

Initial plans for Rockall Road show it following the existing Caron Road off Roblin Boulevard to a point where Caron turns east. The new road would continue in a straight line south across the Grand Trunk Trail and then bend westward to connect with La Fleche Road. A new CN rail crossing would be needed for the road to intersect with Wilkes Avenue.

Headingley mayor John Mauseth said the project is in the early stages and hinges on the province contributing half of the cost.

“We haven’t heard whether they’ll be there or not.”

He said the main factor driving the proposed LIP is Manitoba Infrastructure’s plan, as part of the South Perimeter Highway Safety Plan, to close the one remaining access point from Caron Road onto the Perimeter Highway in 2020. This would force all traffic from the businesses located along Caron Road and Fast Lane to use the intersection on Roblin as the only way to access their locations.

Part of Caron Road is owned by the City of Winnipeg and part by the province.
Having a new roadway west of Caron Road could also encourage further development in the area.

“It does open up some doors to development,” Mauseth said.

If passed, the LID bylaw would require the 10 companies listed as owning land within Local Improvement District No. 6 to pay an annual levy of $735 per acre over 10 years or pre-pay $6,111 per acre.

A public hearing on the bylaw was held on Oct. 22. Three property owners filed letters objecting to the proposed project, while a law firm representing three other affected companies sent a letter stating that their clients support the project but asked for the new road’s route to be changed slightly.

The bylaw will be submitted to the Municipal Board for approval based on a determination of the municipality’s capability to support the $1.25 million debt. Any registered objectors to the bylaw will have the opportunity to appeal Headingley council’s decision to the board. If there are sufficient objections (10 per cent of the property owners) then the board has to hold a hearing.

After the Municipal Board’s approval, the bylaw will be read a second and third time at council.

For more information on the LID No. 6 bylaw see the Nov. 12 meeting agenda at http://www.rmofheadingley.ca/p/agendas-minutes