Mayors along the Rideau Canal Corridor have outlined the urgency in getting a new permanent bridge at the LaSalle Causeway in Kingston to avoid another downturn in local tourism like the one they saw this year.
Smiths Falls Mayor Shawn Pankow tells us planning a trip is hard to do.
The Mayor, who has met several times with the others along the Rideau Corridor to discuss the issue says they need Public Services and Procurement Canada to take action.
The Mayor outlined potential solutions and the need to remove planning barriers. One would be to accelerate the building of a new bridge, which currently stands at 3 to 5 years.
That couldn’t be done next year, but a suggestion from the group could be.
That may not sit well for Kingstonians, but the group acknowledges that the bridge has to be in place during the work week.
Letters from the mayors to Transport Minister Anand and the local MP have yet to bring responses according to group.
The City of Kingston has said they are eager to see a new permanent bridge in place, which would be the solution that suits everyone involved.