5 days ago
Sophia Creek project completed ahead of schedule
Crews were busy repainting the rainbow crosswalk along Lakeshore Drive in Barrie on Tuesday, which marked one of the final steps of the Sophia Creek Owen Tributary Storm Outlet project.
Work began in August 2024, and it is set to wrap up this week.
'The goal is to aim to improve the infrastructure and to reduce the risk of flooding for the residents in the downtown area and the businesses,' said Ken Lin, project manager with the City of Barrie.
It was a project that consisted of 135 meters of concrete connecting from Meridian Place through Heritage Park to an existing culvert in Kempenfelt Bay.
The reopening of Lakeshore Drive will also alleviate some of the traffic buildup in the downtown area.
Rob Kelly owns and operates the Caribbean Express, a shop that faces Lakeshore Drive. He says he is thrilled to see the work done so he can get back to more customers.
'It's beautiful. We have a lot of traffic coming though,' said Kelly. 'People can see us now. It was kind of lopped off a little bit, but it's all good now.'
The construction completion is also good news too for the thousands of people who use heritage park, especially on warm weather days.
'It's perfect because I walk out to the [General John Hayter Southshore Community Centre] on one side and Johnson's Beach the other day and so it's very nice to get it back again,' said Alan Hack, a Barrie resident.
The city was able to get the work done about two weeks ahead of time and just in time for this weekend's air show. People along the waterfront on Tuesday say they were pleased with its early finish and accessibility.
'It's definitely good to be back and be able to drive down here because I a lot of times go back up to the highway on my way back to Hunstville,' said Dan Atkinson, visiting Barrie from Huntsville.
With most of the project now complete the only thing left to do is to install 12 new light lamps in Heritage Park. That work is expected to be done the week of June 9
Speed cameras expanding in Innisfil
The Town of Innisfil announced on Wednesday that they will be adding two new speed cameras to their repertoire and that they operate on a rotational basis.
