Ward 9 councillor pushes for action on Twin Oaks access

Twin Oaks Drive and Lauzon Parkway seen in Windsor, Ont. in an undated photo. (Bob Bellacicco/CTV News Windsor)

The councillor for Ward 9 says a recent mayoral decision is a direct consequence of previous decisions made to not make improvements to the Twin Oaks Industrial Park.

Kieran McKenzie is reacting after Drew Dilkens who called for administration to report back to council with options for an additional access point to the Twin Oaks Industrial Park, including proposed timelines and construction costs.

This comes following an incident last week during the significant snowfall event, where a semi-truck was unable to get up the hill on Twin Oaks Drive to Lauzon Parkway for over two hours, which is the only way in and out of the Industrial Park.

Previously, drivers could use Anchor Drive to reach Banwell Road as another way in and out of the area, however the road was closed off due to the NextStar Energy Battery Plant being constructed.

Many businesses in the area had expressed their concerns about this decision and were promised a solution by the city. Since then, there have been numerous instances were workers in Twin Oaks have been unable to exit the area in a timely manner.

McKenzie says these concerns were heard by council over two years ago.

“They were concerned about this exact situation emerging where there would be problems with people getting in and out of the subdivision when there were problems that were happening in the roadway. Frankly, we haven’t done enough to make sure that the solutions, and that appropriate, and effective solutions are currently in place.”

He says to have another ingress/egress, the city would need to use private property.

“There are ways where traffic could be directed through private property... that is a complicated process, and would need a lot of a) good will, b) trust, c) the legal framework would need to be put in place, and also there would need to be very specific criteria as to when, under what circumstances, that option can be exercised.”

MacKenzie says he’s not sure what the pricetag would look like on this project.

“And I don’t want to assume that council is going to support this because it’s going to be a project that’s going to require several million dollars of funding,’ McKenzie says. “Even if we decide to fund this project on budget day, it’s still going to be anywhere from 18 months to two years before the new entry and exit point becomes operational. So, over that period of time the risk still exists.”

According to McKenzie, an additional permanent access point is crucial, but in the short-term there needs to be an solution implemented immediately for emergencies.

Dilkens has asked for the report to be presented during the Jan. 26 meeting, which is when council will meet to deliberate the 2026 proposed budget.