City council could be set to tackle another long-standing, and controversial, issue later this year.

The summer saw city councillors vote to pursue the Cataraqui River third crossing project and adopt a vision for the development of the Portsmouth Olympic Harbour and Kingston Penitentiary sites.

With municipal and provincial funding already pledged for the third crossing, city staff and politicians will continue to work to secure the federal government’s $60-million share. And staff are to carry on with planning how to implement the vision council adopted for the harbour and penitentiary sites.

But Mayor Bryan Paterson said he expects council is also going to look at another project that has been on the planning books.

“A big issue to come is the future of the Wellington Street extension,” Mayor Bryan Paterson said. “There has been a lot of consultation around that and so we are actively exploring alternatives for that.”

The construction of a two-lane road starting at the foot of Bay Street that would connect Wellington with John Counter Boulevard at the intersection with Elliott Avenue has been on the city’s to-do list (or at least its to-think-about-doing list) for decades.

The city’s transportation master plan identified a need for a north-south road between Elliott Avenue and downtown in 2004, and an environmental assessment for the project was approved by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment almost a decade ago.

“There is a lot of staff work yet to be done and then there is to be a reporting back and then a decision to say are there options where we can get the traffic corridor we need but also preserve green space along the Cataraqui River,” Paterson added.

Proponents of the Wellington Street extension see it as a way to improve traffic flow and open up access to industrial lands.

Opponents argue the project will only add to the city’s car dependence, cut off access to the waterfront, and fear it will consume much of Doug Fluhrer Park.

“I just want to move forward with a plan that can realize our vision for revitalization of the Inner Harbour and the old industrial district,” Paterson said.

“I am not wedded to the Wellington Street extension. In fact, if anything, I am optimistic that we can find a compromise plan, that there is a way we can get the necessary road network to unlock development and at the same time preserve green space.”

The next few months could set the tone for the final year of this council in the lead-up to the Oct. 22, 2018, municipal election.

“I fully expect it will be a very busy year,” Paterson said. “The mandate for this council is quickly coming to a close, so we need to work quickly and we need to work hard to make sure that we are able to get finished everything we wanted to do as a council.”

elferguson@postmedia.com