Wyndham Street Municipal Class Environmental Assessment

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 Revitalization work, the City of Guelph has initiated a Municipal Class EA to confirm the required improvements to Wyndham Street North from Carden Street to Woolwich Street.

The purpose of the study is 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 will consider 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 EA in January 2021, and is now being completed as a Schedule “A+” project in accordance with the Municipal Class EA (October 2000, amended in 2007, 2011, 2015). This is because we are examining a range of options that are already considered pre-approved under the Municipal Class EA process. However, we’ll continue to follow “Schedule B” public consultation measures.

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

Community engagement

Public and technical agency consultation will be fundamental in developing the study recommendations.

One open house was completed on November 2, 2022. The second open house is scheduled for Wednesday, September 27, 2023.

You are invited to join us for the second open house on the Wyndham Street EA. We’ll present the recommended design concept to:

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

Drop-in to review our recommendations on display, ask questions and give feedback on:

Date: Wednesday, September 27
Time: 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Location: City Hall Galleria, 1 Carden Street, Guelph

Materials will also be available through the City’s  Have Your Say  platform from September 27 to October 15, 2023.

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 Archeological assessment
• Traffic study

Following the completion of the studies of the existing conditions above, a long list of alternatives was created for each of the different structures. 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 will be shared at the second open house for September 27.

The existing conditions studies, the long list of alternatives that were presented at the public open house #1, the long list to shortlist evaluation memo and the shortlist of alternatives presented at open house #2 are all available upon request.

Resources and documents

Notice of commencement – Wyndham Street

Long List to Short List Workshop

Existing Conditions Technical Memorandum

QA Sign off – Existing conditionsAppendix 1 – Natural environment conditions

Appendix 2 – Cultural Heritage Report

Appendix 3 – Archealogical Assessment 

Appendix 4 – Traffic and Transportation

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.