The Municipality of Grey Highlands is going to look into the possibility of having turn lanes installed on Highway 10 at the entrance to the new Markdale Hospital.
Acting on a recommendation from the municipality’s Road Safety Community Partnership Committee, council voted to ask staff to bring back more information about the possibility of turn lanes for the new hospital.
The committee suggested to council that left turn lanes be installed on the highway for north and south bound traffic.
The new Markdale Hospital officially opened in September 2023. It is located off of Highway 10 behind the Grey Gables Long-Term care complex, which is also home to the Grey Highlands municipal offices.
“With the hospital being there now, you’re going to see more turning in there,” said Mayor Paul McQueen.
The committee’s recommendation initially started a debate around the council table about how to proceed on the turn lanes matter. Coun. Paul Allen suggested the turn lanes be included in any future Connecting Link project for the portion of Highway 10 running through Markdale.
Chris Cornfield, the municipality’s director of transportation and public spaces, said turning lanes would be included in any application to the Connecting Link program for funding. However, Cornfield noted that provincial funding through the program is not guaranteed and could take years. He said if the turn lanes were a priority council could contemplate proceeding with the lanes as a separate, stand-alone project.
Before the discussion continued, CAO Karen Govan suggested council request a report from staff about the matter to have more information before any decision is made.
“Having a conversation on the fly is probably not the most prudent way to do this,” said Govan.
Council agreed and voted to request a full staff report on the topic.
