What is the east-west connector and why is Summerside budgeting $5.5 million for it?

In total, the road would be about two kilometres long, with an additional 300-metre section that would connect to Jillian Street.

SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. – After 20 years of consideration, the City of Summerside intends to proceed with the first phase of the east-west connector road project. It’s a project that readers have probably heard of but may not know much about.

What we know so far:

WHAT WILL IT COST?

The City of Summerside has committed $5.5 million to Phase I of the east-west connector road project in the 2023-24 fiscal year.

WHERE?

City planners say a new arterial road is needed to connect Water Street east in the Wilmot area to the northern part of the city near the uptown shopping district.

WHY?

Traffic studies have shown that between 5,000 and 7,000 cars per day enter the city through Water Street east just to turn onto Macewen Road, heading towards the cluster of businesses at the north end of Granville Street. Those are in addition to thousands more vehicles that use the road to access the downtown and businesses along Water Street east.

WHAT WILL IT DO?

The city says a new road would help reduce traffic on the congested portions of Water Street east and open nearly 300 acres of what is now mostly agricultural land for development. Essentially, it’s room to grow for a city that is increasingly finding itself running out of developable land within its borders.

WHAT HAS BEEN THE HOLDUP?

The city had two options for how to proceed with this project. The first was for government to stay out of it and let gradual development by private interests get the road built. But leaving the project to private developers could delay it indefinitely, or it could be done next year.

It all depends on the whims of the open market. The other, more expedient option, which the city has decided to move ahead with, is to build the road at taxpayer expense and gradually recoup the cost through development fees and new property taxes from associated development.

WHY NOW?

City staff have, for years, advised that the construction of the road should be a priority for Summerside. To help make the project more financially palatable, they have proposed building it in two phases, dividing the job roughly in half.

WHAT WILL IT LOOK LIKE?

In total, the road would be about two kilometres long, with an additional 300-metre section that would connect to Jillian Street. Each phase of the project will be about one kilometre long. In a recent council briefing, the city’s chief administrative officer, Gordon Macfarlane, said that now that the Pope Road and Central Street roundabout project is complete, which was a priority for the previous council, staff would be stressing the need for the east-west connector.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Other than the fact that there is money in the budget to build the first phase of the road, the city has released f ew other details of this project as it is still relatively early in the planning process. We know that the city has committed the funds to build at least half of the road, but it still needs to determine which half to build first. The municipality also has a right of way on the various properties along the route of the new road, so expropriations and other ownership issues are not expected to be a major factor.