Environmental Assessment: Wyndham Street Municipal Class

About the project

Wyndham Street North is a vital corridor to the accessibility, local economy and placemaking of Downtown Guelph. The Downtown Streetscape Manual, completed in 2014, included recommendations to reduce Wyndham Street from four to two lanes and introduce a traffic circle at the Wyndham/Quebec/Douglas intersection, creating a public square in the St. George’s Square area.

In response, and as part of the broader Downtown Infrastructure Renewal work, the City of Guelph initiated a Municipal Class Environmental Assessment (EA) to confirm the required improvements to Wyndham Street North from Carden Street to Woolwich Street.

The purpose of the study was to enhance road safety, operations and connectivity for all users including vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists, and transit through the Wyndham Street corridor and improve the St. Georges Square at the Wyndham/Quebec/Douglas intersection.

The study considers design options for the Wyndham Street corridor, including lane reduction from four to two lanes, adding bike lanes, etc. as well as the layouts under consideration for the Wyndham/Quebec/Douglas intersection.

The location and approximate extent of the study area are shown on the map.

The process

The project was initiated as a Schedule “B” Municipal Class Environmental Assessment (EA) in January 2021, and is now being completed as an EA-exempt project in accordance with the Municipal Class EA (October 2000, amended in 2007, 2011, 2015). The project has been exempted from the EA process as the options under examination consist of a range of options that are already considered pre-approved under the Municipal Class EA process. However, the study continued to follow “Schedule B” public consultation measures.

In developing the recommendations, the study considered technical, aesthetic and structural requirements, as well as socio-economic, cultural heritage and natural environment factors.

Community engagement

Public and technical agency consultation and involvement are fundamental in developing the study recommendations.

Open houses and online surveys were held in November 2022 and September 2023, and a series of outdoor engagement events in summer 2023 were hosted to present and discuss:

• options to rebuild Wyndham Street North (from Carden Street to Woolwich Street), and
• layout options under consideration for the intersection of Wyndham Street, Quebec Street and Douglas Street (St. George’s Square).

Open houses and online surveys in November 2022 and September 2023, and a series of outdoor engagement events in summer 2023 were hosted to present and discuss:

• options to rebuild Wyndham Street North (from Carden Street to Woolwich Street) and
• layout options under consideration for the intersection of Wyndham Street, Quebec Street and Douglas Street (St. George’s Square).

The project team has reviewed feedback from the various engagements throughout 2023 to consider in the selection of the recommended options.

Project progress

The project team has completed the following supporting studies that are required to understand the existing and future conditions of Wyndham Street North:

• Topographic survey and subsurface utility investigation
• Preliminary geotechnical investigation
• Natural environment assessment
• Cultural heritage assessments
• Stage 1 archaeological assessment
• Traffic study

Following the completion of the studies of the existing conditions above, a long list of alternatives was created for the road cross-section and St. George’s Square. The long list was presented to the public via an open house on November 2, 2022.

An evaluation criterion was developed for the alternatives in conjunction with the input received at the open house and the City’s previously completed Policy/Vision documents. The long list of alternatives was then assessed against the evaluation criteria. Following the evaluation, a short list of alternatives was created.

The City has evaluated the shortlist alternatives for the Wyndham corridor and the layouts for consideration for the intersection at the St. George’s Square. Our recommendations for community input were shared at the second open house on September 27, 2023.

If you’re interested in viewing supporting documents, please contact one of our project team members listed below.

The project team presented the recommended options for approval at the Committee of the Whole meeting on February 6, 2024.

Council approved the recommendations at their Council meeting on February 27, 2024.

Resources and documents

View all resources and documents related to the Wyndham Street Environmental Assessment.

For more information

Please contact one of our project team members if you have questions or comments or would like to be added to the project mailing list.