City staff is recommending to Council that it approve a contract for engineering services to take another step closer to completing the recreational pathway linking the north and south ends of North Bay.
The contract, in the amount of $82,240, would be awarded to D.M. Wills Associates Limited for an environmental assessment and design for a new multi-use recreational pathway between the Main Street West and Gormanville Road intersection and the west end of the existing Kate Pace Way on Memorial Drive. The report shows that the D.M. Willis proposal scored the highest of four applicants.
An Ontario Municipal Cycling Infrastructure Program grant for design and construction services totalling $325,000 has been approved. The City of North Bay’s contribution will be $400,000.
The environmental assessment will examine options available for the pathway, including the addition of a pedestrian crossing initiated by a signal on Memorial Drive to access the portion to be built.
The report stresses that Council’s approval for the contract is necessary to avoid losing the funding grant.
From the report to Council:
This project represents the final piece of a recreational pathway connecting the north and south ends of the City of North Bay. Over the past eight years, portions of the pathway were constructed on Gormanville Road from Main West to McKeown Avenue, on College Drive from Gormanville Road to the College/University, on Booth Road from Marshall Avenue to Lakeshore Drive, and an 850 m section on Lakeshore Drive from Booth Road easterly. In addition to the completion of the pathway within the city, the pathway also forms part of the Voyageur Cycling Route.
