Windsor, Ont., has launched a truck route study to help update the road network that ensures goods can move through the community which includes the cross-border Ambassador Bridge and Detroit Windsor Tunnel.

In addition to trucking destinations, the study will consider pedestrian activity, cycling routes and key connections, business improvement areas, neighborhoods and sensitive areas, and other vehicle traffic.

All arterial and collector roads, as well as local roads in commercial-industrial areas and scenic drives, will be considered as candidates to be included in the truck route network, adding to provincial highways that continue to have a part within it.

Few problems for cross-border fleets

Some fleets that simply pass through the city on the way to the border, however, report few problems with the part of the existing network they touch.

“We primarily travel direct to the border crossing. We don’t experience the issues that may occur when traveling off highway routes in Windsor,” said Peter Jenkins, general manager at TransPro Freight Systems based in Milton, Ont.

Soliciting input from his dispatch team and drivers, he said the carrier planned to provide feedback to the city during the study. Jenkins said one driver suggested that an area for trucks to pull over to update and record their border crossing would be welcome.

Windsor is one of the most traveled border routes connecting Canada and the U.S., said Chris West, vice-president of Operations, Wellington Motor Freight based in Puslinch, Ont.

“We have no issues going through the city,” West said. “If there is a better way to direct traffic, if there is an alternative route then let’s exhaust all options.”

Lak Shoan, director, policy and industry awareness programs for Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) said it’s still early in the process, but the association plans to hold meetings with members and the municipality soon.