Whitehorse transportation corridor improvements are moving forward, city councillor Ted Laking said today.

During last Monday’s meeting of council’s standing committee, Laking discussed an upcoming project looking at ways to address local traffic patterns.

The project, titled Transportation Corridor Improvements – Evaluation and Design, was presented to council as part of the bi-monthly update on upcoming procurements.

The scope of the project is to complete a corridor study from Mountainview Drive to Second Avenue and assess conceptual level options to improve active transportation, transit, and traffic flow.

During questioning, Laking highlighted several areas that are being looked at to address traffic coming into downtown from the north of the city.

“Porter Creek and Whistle Bend have been growing quite quickly, and residents of those areas are certainly looking for how the city can help address the growing issue of traffic congestion,” said Laking.

This includes the addition of left turn signals as early as this year turning onto Chilkoot Way off Two Mile Hill.

It was also indicated that the project will look at ways to improve intersections at Mountainview Drive and Range Road, Copper Road and Tlingit Street, Quartz Road and Industrial Road, and Quartz Road and Chilkoot Way intersections.

“Adding a left turn signal off Two Mile this summer, I think, will be a welcome addition as we figure out how to make the community flow better, so I am happy to see this move forward and hope it is just the first of several advanced lefts,” added Laking.

This comes after Laking brought forward an amendment to the draft Official Community Plan (OCP) in October 2022 to include as a priority the planning and implementation of ways to address traffic congestion in the north end of the city.

The amendment to the OCP included the planning and implementation of road upgrades to the Whitehorse North Transportation Corridor, which includes Quartz Road, Copper Road, and Mountainview Drive.