Safety upgrades have been approved for a busy LaSalle intersection.
As part of 2026 budget deliberations, Essex County Council approved signalizing the intersection of Front Road and Martin Lane.
Residents raised concerns over the intersection in spring 2024 and mayor Crystal Meloche said she and deputy mayor Michael Akpata had been advocating for changes ever since.
"I heard from lots of residents over the years, very concerned about their safety there. The sidewalk is only on one side of Front Road so we had people trying to cross that four-lane highway to get to the other side to use the sidewalks," she said.
"This is really great for the community in that area and hopefully it will slow down traffic as well because that's just a straight stretch where we tend to see a lot of speeding."
Meloche said new housing developments coming off Martin Lane are expected to bring an increase in traffic to the area.
"We're already seeing increased traffic coming from the Amherstburg area so anything we can do to make the area safer is a win for everybody," Meloche said.
Meloche said construction could begin late 2026.
"Last year it had been approved to start, kind of, the basic design work which was done and that's how they decided that the intersection would require a signal, but now they would have to go out to tender for a full design and build of the intersection, and then council would move forward with it at that point," she said.
The county has set aside $500,000 for the project.