Tara Kearsey
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Jun 30/00) - The city has agreed to address concerns about traffic and road conditions at the access into Ndilo, but the solution is not welcomed by all.

The Yellowknives Dene Band Council passed a resolution earlier this year asking the city to open a second access into Ndilo via Otto Drive.

For years the residents of Ndilo have been concerned about increased traffic flow along Morrison Drive, the width of the road and a number of accidents which have occurred.

Yellowknives Dene are requesting a second access be opened into Ndilo via the road known as the Otto Drive cul-de-sac.

The band suggested the Morrison Drive access could then become a one-way street southbound and Otto Drive become one-way northbound.

On Monday city council approved a motion to honour the recommendation of the Yellowknives Dene.

Tim Mercer, the city's director of corporate services, said the Otto Drive cul-de-sac will become a one-way street once it is paved and upgraded next summer.

"The traffic pattern will stay the same until that upgrade work is done," said Mercer.

Some residents of Latham Island are welcoming plans for the second access, but not all.

Diane Magnusson, a resident of Otto Drive, said she does not favour the second access for a number of reasons.

Magnusson said she doesn't believe the city is taking the right approach by planning to distribute the traffic evenly between Morrison Drive and Otto Drive.

"(Otto Drive) is a nice, quiet neighbourhood and I do believe that these kinds of areas should be really valued and be preserved and protected, not destroyed," she said.

Magnusson said safety is a concern for her, but she believes there are other options to be considered.

She suggested the city monitor the traffic flow on Latham Island very closely over the next year or consider plans for a pedestrian walking path along the shoreline near Morrison Drive to allocate more room for vehicles to pass.

"I just don't think it has been considered enough ... I do think safety is a primary concern but I don't think this necessarily will make it safer.

"I think it will ruin the character of one neighbourhood and not really resolve the problem," said Magnusson.

Joan Hirons resides on Morrison Drive where she also operates the Island Bed and Breakfast.

She is upset because the one-way street will mean she and her guests will have to drive all the way around Otto Drive and down Morrison Drive, an 800 metre detour, to get to her home.

"Maybe further up Morrison Drive is not a safe place to route traffic, but looking at it personally it's going to be very inconvenient to drive 800 metres further," she said.

Changing Morrison Drive to a one-way street could also hurt her business, added Hirons, as guests will have to fork out more money for taxi fares.

However, Mercer said plans for the second access could be altered if the Yellowknives Dene Band decides it does not want the second access. If that happens, he said Yellowknife city council could very well re-consider its decision.

Mercer said he believes Public Works will hold a public consultation meeting sometime in the near future to explain the city's plans for the project.