$6.5 million reallocated from London, Ont. intersection upgrades to bus rapid transit

London politicians voted Tuesday to move funds set aside for upgrades at the Oxford Street and Wharncliffe Road intersection to the massively cost-overrun bus rapid transit (BRT) system.

Councillors agreed that moving the federal and provincial funding away from the intersection toward the BRT was a smart move in the short term, but some felt the Oxford-Wharncliffe intersection still needed to be addressed.

“It disrupts people every day. And it’s not just people in Ward 6 who are being disrupted, it’s a major gateway to the university, to the hospital,” Ward 6 Coun. Sam Trosow said. “Having this the way it is, it’s a danger to public safety.”

City staff did somewhat alleviate Trosow’s worries, saying staff would be installing “smart” traffic lights along with other small infrastructure changes to mitigate some of the congestion.

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Mayor Josh Morgan said that while shuffling the funds around doesn’t solve big challenges with infrastructure costs, it’s a good decision in the short term.

“It takes a little bit of pressure off of the tax base and the way that we would debt finance the Wellington Gateway Project with the cost overruns in that business case,” Morgan said. “Not to say that isn’t going to create challenges down the road, but I think the master mobility plan will help us help guide us through.”

Ward 10 Coun. Paul Van Meerbergen, the lone no vote, called the intersection “horrendous” and in dire need of improvements.

Doug MacRae, the city’s director of transportation and mobility, said the intent of the recommendation was to make the best use of federal and provincial funds.

“We have a window of opportunity to reallocate funds that’s not ordinarily provided. The intent is that we have a more planful approach,” MacRae said. “Anything we do at this intersection will be costly, require extensive property acquisition, and construction will be disruptive.”

The remaining funding, around $12 million, will stay in the budget for when the scope of the Oxford-Wharncliffe intersection improvements is better known.

The strategic priorities and policy committee voted 13-1 to move the funding over to BRT, with Van Meerbergen the lone opposition. Coun. Steve Lehman was absent from the meeting.

The reallocation will now need to be approved by the Ministry of Transportation.