New sidewalk, bike lane indecision continues to stall bridge replacement
Posted July 29, 2026
Tendering on the multi-million dollar replacement of the Church St. N bridge and road improvements in Alliston continues to be delayed over the unresolved political issue of adding sidewalks on the east side of the road, which Town staff warn could increase costs because of construction inflation and contractor availability.
A report presented to council Monday night recommended council reject calls to scale back the reconstruction of Church Street North, arguing the project is designed not for today's traffic, but for decades of future growth.
The west side of Church St. N has sidewalks, while the east side has sidewalk between Victoria and Evans Road. It has been policy of the Town to include new sidewalks as part of major road works on minor collector roads, which Church St. N falls into.
"As a planned minor collector road, Church St N must safely accommodate both vehicular and pedestrian movements," according to the report to council. "Sidewalks on both sides of the roadway improve accessibility, reduce unnecessary road crossings, create continuous pedestrian routes, and strengthen connections within the broader transportation network. A pedestrian crossover is also proposed at Evans Rd to improve pedestrian safety."
Residents on the east side are opposed to the sidewalks, concerned about impact on their driveways.
Deputy Mayor Stephanie MacLellan said the Town has pushed through with sidewalk construction in Beeton and Tottenham, facing similar opposition.
"People love sidewalks until they're in front of their house," said MacLellan.
The report notes typical minor collector road cross-section details sidewalk to be placed approximately 0.5m from the municipal property line, or approximately 4.5m behind the curb. To minimize impacts on existing driveways and front yards, the proposed design locates the sidewalk approximately 1.0m behind the curb where feasible. The overall impact to property owners that currently do not have a sidewalk fronting their property will experience a reduction of approximately 2.5m in usable driveway length near the roadway.
Ward 1 councillor Chris Rapin suggested instead the sidewalk go to the curb noting that's how they're located in the vicinity on Victoria and Church St. S to Wellington. His amendment failed to win council support.
The other issue is the impact more than 1,000 metres of new bike lane as part of the project will create a bottle neck, and impact on street parking.
Parking is currently prohibited along most of Church St N and permitted only on a portion of the west side north of Fletcher Cres. to Hussey St. The addition of bike lanes would effectively remove this remaining parking area.
Engineering staff note there is little financial benefit to eliminating bicycle lanes because the roadway must be built to the same width regardless. Installing bike lanes during reconstruction adds little more than pavement markings and signs, while delaying them would increase future costs.
The matter returns to council when it meets August 24.
