After decades of waiting and years of debate, Greater Sudbury city council confirmed its support Tuesday for the $80.1 million Maley Drive extension project. The 12-1 vote in favour wasn't close, with only Ward 2 Coun.

After decades of waiting and years of debate, Greater Sudbury city council confirmed its support Tuesday for the $80.1 million Maley Drive extension project.



The 12-1 vote in favour wasn't close, with only Ward 2 Coun. Michael Vagnini voting no, citing the need to repair roads in his ward as a greater need.



Vagnini's adviser, Tom Price, is a vocal opponent of the project.



The rest of council, however, supported Mayor Brian Bigger's motion in favour of the project, a key step in securing federal funding for the project. Nickel Belt MP Marc Serré came out in favour of the project last week, vowing to fight for the funds if council still supported the project.



Both Serré and Sudbury MP Paul Lefebvre are members of the Liberal government. During the 2015 election campaign, Lefebvre said he would lobby for Maley if that's what councillors wanted.



“Congratulations to Greater Sudbury city council on its overwhelming support of Maley Drive extension,” Lefebvre tweeted shortly after the vote.



While several councillors were expected to vote in favour, some hadn't stated their position publicly. For example, residents on Montrose Avenue in Ward 12 Coun. Joscelyne Landry-Altmann's ward are concerned the connection to their street planned in phase 2 of the project will ruin their neighbourhood.



But Landry-Altmann was able to get planners to consider taking another approach for the still unfunded phase 2. That was enough for her to support the plan, while acknowledging it still wasn't popular for those residents.



“It would be in the best interests of the people of Montrose for this not to go through, but it would not be in the best interests of the city,” she said.



Ward 7 Coun. Mike Jakubo said it was time for council to take advantage of the political alignment currently in place, with both federal and provincial politicians in government.



“It's an opportunity to see some large dollars invested in our community,” Jakubo said. “Now is the time for this council to reaffirm its support, to show a new fed government that this council is still committed to the benefits this project will (bring).



“I will happily raise my hand in favour of it.”



Ward 10 Coun. Deb McIntosh said she understood concerns of residents who said the city should be fixing current roads, rather than building new ones. But she urged residents to think big picture, arguing Maley will be a boon to the mining industry, helping businesses both big and small.



“We can be the global rock star of the mining world,” McIntosh said. “(Maley) helps us to bring the product to market … You can't trade if you can't move. It is time to move.”



And Ward 10 Coun. Fern Cormier said this council intends to make more big decisions, this time on making major repairs to roads. Councillors are considering debt-financing to pay for major repairs to Lorne Street and four-laning MR35. They'll get more details on that at a meeting March 30.



“We're looking to make further investments,” Cormier said.



“We need to move forward,” said Ward 6 Coun. René Lapierre. “We have been at a standstill in this city for a long time. It's time to move forward.”



For his part, Bigger praised staff for their work explaining the details of Maley in the face of fierce opposition among some in the community. After public information and input sessions, and countless “passionate” conversations, he said everyone had a chance to make their case.



“I feel this process was as transparent as any process of the past,” Bigger said.“We really have looked into this process in great detail.”



A New Sudbury resident, the mayor said he knows first-hand that residents will benefit from Maley.



“When I'm sitting in heavy traffic, it's really easy to understand the impact of removing 10,000 cars (a day) off Lasalle,” Bigger said. “To me, that was very significant. People will feel that impact once Maley Drive is working as designed.”



Tuesday's meeting was the second in a row that councillors have made decisions on issues that have lingered for years. At the March 8 meeting, they voted to reduce the garbage bag limit to two beginning in the fall, and to take away councillors' spending powers of the $50,000 each ward receives for local projects.



Ward 1 Coun. Mark Signoretti said councillors were acting for the good of the whole city.



“I'm proud to be part of this council,” Signoretti said. “We need to think of the future.”



The project has been the city's top infrastructure priority for decades. In the short term, Maley is forecast to create 780 jobs during the construction phase, which is expected to begin this spring and last until 2019.



After years of trying – and failing – to get the province and federal government to provide their one-third share of the costs, the province agreed in 2014 to provide $26.7 million for Maley, and the federal government is expected to follow suit after council confirmed its support.



Details on the Maley extension can be found here: www.greatersudbury.ca



For the record:



Here's how each councillor voted on the Maley Drive extension: