At issue was a planning document called the “Road Network Functional Plan,” which included various road projects called for in the 2006 regional plan, including the widening of Bayers Road to six lanes west of Connaught Avenue and to four lanes between Connaught and Windsor Street. That idea is reflected in provincial plans to widen Highway 102 to up to eight lanes in places; in total, the road- and highway widening will likely cost about a billion dollars.
Councillor Jennifer Watts moved that the functional plan be passed, but that the Bayers Road component be removed; her intent, she explained later, was to force city staff to go through the five-year review of the regional plan with the understanding that Bayers Road could not be widened for cars. That would require staff to find other possible options when conducting the five-year review of the , including transit lanes. But council flipped the issue, putting the functional plan after the five-year review, and therefore keeping the widening-for-cars option in the mix.
