MLA, deputy mayor question off-ramp study
Green Party leader says Transportation minister still needs to consult with Skyline Acres residents, while ward councillor wants more fulsome discussion of costs to redesign exit
With the release of an engineering study recommending the closure of the Vanier Highway exit onto Liverpool Street, politicians representing affected Fredericton residents say more public discourse is needed.
The provincial Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DTI) closed the off-ramp from a section of Route 7, known as the Vanier Highway, into a residential neighbourhood via Liverpool Street on Monday, citing safety concerns.
In a news release issued just days earlier, Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Richard Ames cited an independent study commissioned by the department and conducted by Englobe as justification for the elimination of the off-ramp.
The move was met with disapproval and criticism by Skyline Acres residents, as well as Fredericton South MLA David Coon and Ward 8 Coun. Greg Ericson.
They also took issue with the fact that the Englobe study wasn’t made available despite it being the grounds the department cited for the decision.
The province released that study to the Fredericton Independent on Thursday, and it shared it with Coon and Ericson.