A request to temporarily close roads around the Ojibway Prairie Provincial Nature Reserve to protect animals at risk has been put on hold.
On Wednesday, the City of Windsor’s Environment, Transportation and Public Safety Standing Committee received a request from the Windsor-Essex County Environment Committee to close a pair of roads for an 8-week period in the fall to protect migrating animals from becoming road kill.
In its request, WECEC cited a 2016 study published in the scientific journal The Canadian Field Naturalist which showed more than 2,000 animals were killed by vehicles in the area of the reserve from 2010-2013.
Some of the animals killed included species at risk like the Butler’s Gartersnake, the Eastern Foxsnake and the Northern Map Turtle.
Windsor’s committee was asked to recommend the closures to city council, which would affect Matchette Road from Sprucewood Avenue to Broadway Street and Malden Road from Todd Lane to Armanda Street.
Ward 9 councillor and member of the Environment, Transportation and Public Safety Committee, Kieran McKenzie, says there are broader implications that need to be reviewed before signing off on the proposed road closures.
“Yes, I understand the urgency with respect to some of the species that are involved and the migration patterns — with that said, we need to make smart, public policy choices that have a full consideration of all the issues that are in play,” says McKenzie. “The legal considerations are not insignificant.”
The closures are proposed for the period of September 1 to October 27.
McKenzie says the committee didn’t have complete information to make a decision and is allowing time for that to happen.
“The folks that sit on this committee are on the environment committee because they care deeply about the environment,” says Mckenzie
“I care deeply as well about trying to protect these animals and these species at risk but, I want to make sure that we make a good decision — a decision that’s based on full information, that takes into consideration the full scope of all of the issues that are germane to this discussion. That hasn’t happened to this point. Today we made a decision to do that.”
WECEC also highlights a Wildlife Preservation Canada road mortality study being conducted this year meant to determine the effectiveness of road closures on the death rates of species at risk.
