Environmental concerns relating to transportation are major issues for most development proposals. Public participation is the best means of dealing with these concerns in a sensitive and responsible manner. A case study demonstrating this participation is found in the approval process of a new food store in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Canada Safeway Limited currently serve the northwest sector of Thunder Bay with two older grocery stores. They have proposed to close these two stores and open a larger, more modern facility across the street from one of the existing stores. The site for the new store is located next to existing residential and commercial land uses. The site fronts a major arterial fronts a major arterial street. In addition to the proposed Safeway store, significant changes to the roadway network in the area are anticipated to occur in the near future. There are plans to upgrade an existing signalized intersection, another signalized intersection is to be replaced with a fly-over. The City is also proposing to develop a new arterial to serve the area. With all of these changes to the roadway system, along with a larger food store, residents expressed concern about increased traffic on local streets. To study the effects of these changes, an impact study, including an area traffic review, was conducted. This paper presents the study scope, the concerns brought forth in the open house and the resulting recommendations.
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