The latest attempt to block the opening of a new two-lane bridge on Niska Road was rejected by a Guelph court on Monday.
On Monday, Superior Court of Justice Judge Gordon Lemmon handed down its ruling in favour of the city.
Opponents of the Niska Bridge project had taken to the city to court claiming that the city's decision to replace the old bridge with a new two-lane bridge was in contravention of the Planning Act.
Those opponents said they might appeal the decision.They wanted work on the bridge stopped.
"Despite the time and added financial resources required to address the legal matter, the project itself remains on schedule and on budget. The city expects to open the new bridge by late summer," the city said in a news release.
The city was "very pleased" with the court’s decision, said General Manager/City Engineer Kealy Dedman.
“We’ve been confident in the thoroughness of our process which has been validated to be lawful and fitting," Dedman said.
While the battle may have been lost, the war may not be over.
Hugh Whiteley, one of those at the forefront of the opposition, said that his group is reviewing the judge's decision and will decide in the next few days whether to file an appeal.
"It's just the end of checking what the courts feel about what scope the city has in terms of following or not following it's Official Plan," Whiteley said.
"I understand that the basis for the decision is a criteria or reasonableness rather than correctness .... whether the city could reasonably do something as opposed to whether it's correct under the Official Plan," Whiteley said.
Whiteley said he is also encouraging the neighbourhood to request a traffic review for Niska Road, something he believes has never been done because it was never specifically asked for.
The city says it has conducted traffic studies as part of its Environmental Assessment and built traffic calming measures into the roadway.
“Our goal has been, and will continue to be, to build the bridge as efficiently as possible to allow safe travel along Niska Road,” notes Dedman.
