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No 'simple fix' for Highway 655 traffic lights

Councillor says people are waiting through two traffic lights to make a safe left-hand turn
2022-05-05 Hwy 655:Algonquin MH
With more businesses opening at Algonquin and Highway 655, Coun. John Curley has raised safety concerns about the traffic lights at the intersection.

It could be years before there are changes to the lights at the intersection of Highway 655 and Algonquin Boulevard.

With more businesses opening at the Morris A Feldman Developments, Coun. John Curley has been questioning the ability of current traffic light system to accommodate the volume of vehicles. 

At this week's Timmins council meeting, he renewed his call for a report on the lights at the intersection.

The lights are the original ones installed by the Ministry of Transportation and to alter how the lights direct traffic would require putting new conduits in the road and rewiring the system, director of public works and environmental services Ken Krcel told council.

“It’s not a simple fix at this point in time to just add a head and add a left-hand turn signal. It doesn’t have capacity the way it was originally built,” he said.

Krcel said he's brought it up to the consultant working on the Connecting Link design so a more robust system can be added when work is done.

“We’re really caught in a bad timeframe. It’s going to be taken care of with the Connecting Link and hopefully with the funding maybe that section could be moved up when we discuss it with the contractors,” said Krcel.

Under the current proposed plan for Connecting Link work, the earliest the work could be done is 2028. Right now, the plan has Algonquin being redone from Brunette Road to Highway 655 in 2028, and from Highway 655 to Father Costello Drive in 2029.

In May, the new centralized LCBO opened at the development. 

See: Take a peek at the new Timmins LCBO

Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen is slated to open by year-end and a Starbucks is rumoured to be opening there as well. TimminsToday reached out to Starbucks. While they didn't confirm the new location, they said they would provide an update when more is known. In that area, Tisdale Mechanical Contracting and Grainger also recently relocated to the former Acklands building.

Right now at the intersection, there is an advanced green for southbound traffic turning off of 655 onto Algonquin, and for eastbound traffic. When Connecting Link construction starts next week, all of the heavy truck traffic is being rerouted down Highway 655 and will be turning at the intersection to rejoin Algonquin/Highway 101.

Curley said there are times that people are waiting through two traffic lights to make a safe left-hand turn.