The St. Davids roundabout project, which was set to start the summer of next year, is being delayed by the Niagara Region, with the roundabout set to open a year later than the original completion date.
In an email to The Lake Report, the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake confirmed the project remains active, with design work and property discussions continuing, but that the region decided, during its capital budget process for next year, to defer it.
The region’s online project page now lists winter 2028 as the completion date, instead of the original winter 2027 target.
Construction is slated to start summer 2028.
Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa released a statement confirming the project’s delay on Oct. 5, after information circulated online suggesting the project had been terminated.
He said that the Niagara Region advised the town the project was deferred through its capital budget planning process, which is currently underway, to allow infrastructure investments that are a higher priority to go forward.
This will coincide with the region continuing to work on “broader St. Davids improvements,” he said, such as enhancing pedestrian infrastructure.
The announcement came two days after Vaughn Goettler, a candidate for lord mayor in the municipality’s election, posted on Facebook the afternoon of Oct. 3 that he had heard the St. Davids roundabout “has been terminated once and for all,” while noting the information had yet to be confirmed.
“I have advocated against it for the past four years and am satisfied that the right decision has been made. We can now get on with the business of fixing infrastructure in the village,” he said.
Goettler told The Lake Report he was called by multiple credible sources claiming the project’s cancellation.
“The information from everybody — this was all folks from St. Davids, was that the roundabout had been cancelled.”
“I decided that I would carry that, because the people who I was speaking with are people I know, and I think they have fairly credible sources.”
Goettler further said he believes the region’s response claiming the project was deferred, not scrapped altogether, is a way to ease the public into an impending cancellation of the roundabout.
“I think that this is probably a way of easing out of it graciously, because ‘deferred,’ in my books, means it’s not going to happen still.”
Goettler cited the amount of money spent on studies and the debates that have gone on about the development as reasons the region may not want to admit the project is cancelled right away.
From his perspective, as someone opposed to the roundabout, a deferral is better than a go-ahead, he said.
Goettler has since posted an update on his campaign page sharing that he got the distinction between deferred and cancelled wrong.
“Niagara Region has now confirmed that the project has been deferred, not cancelled. I got that distinction wrong, and I want to correct the record,” he said.
“Having said that, deferred is not cancelled. The region needs to listen to the residents of St. Davids and cancel the project — once and for all.”
The St. Davids roundabout, set to be built in the village’s main intersection of York and Four Mile Creek roads, has been several years in the making — during that time, it’s drawn vocal pushback from some St. Davids residents.
Critics have argued against the region’s position that the roundabout will improve traffic safety in the area for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists.
They’ve shared concerns that the roundabout will impact businesses along these roads, alter the historical nature of the village and invite more traffic into their community, making it difficult to navigate for locals.
Regional Coun. Andrea Kaiser said the information in Zalepa’s release is accurate.
Kaiser met with the lord mayor and the director of transportation on Monday to check in after the confusion.
“I think delayed is a better word than deferred,” she said. “It’s moved from one year to another in being delayed as when it will be budgeted.”
Kaiser emphasized the delay of the roundabout will not delay the road reconstruction in front of St. Davids Public School.
“The region understands that’s a really high priority with safety for children,” she said.
Road reconstruction connecting sidewalks with the Cannery Park subdivision and pedestrian crossing also will not be delayed.
