The County of Essex works closely with Ontario and our seven area municipalities to provide a safe and efficient road network.
Master Plans
A Master Plan is a long range plan that integrates infrastructure needs with environmental assessment planning principles. Public consultation is emphasized while these plans are prepared. The Infrastructure Services department has initiated the following Master Plans:
- The Essex Windsor Regional Transportation Master Plan was completed in 2005 and addresses transportation needs to 2021.
- The Regional Transit Study was completed in 2011 to identify regional transit opportunities.
- The County Wide Active Transportation System Master Plan was adopted in 2012 to promote bicycling trails and multi-use pathways.
Environmental Assessments
County projects must meet the requirements of the Environmental Assessment Act, which places an emphasis on public impact. The greater the potential impact of a project, the greater the requirements under the Act.
Stages of a Project
There are typically three stages in every major transportation project:
Environmental Assessment: An EA is a planning process that considers and manages all environmental impacts and include consultation with the public and potentially affected parties. The five phases of the EA process are identified on the EA Flowchart.
Design: Contract drawings and tender documents.
Construction: Physical work on the project begins.
Traffic Signals and Systems
The County is responsible for about 42 traffic signals in the region.
We collect data on traffic flow to help with planning, budgeting, policy development and traffic management.
Most traffic volume data is available for free on our public mapping site.
Roundabouts
The County of Essex is pleased to announce the opening of a new multi-lane roundabout in Lakeshore.
Located at the intersection of County Road 22 and County Road 2, this new facility will improve traffic flow, ease congestion, and make it easier and safer for drivers to navigate this busy intersection (PDF).
The County of Essex also has 2 single lane roundabouts in operation:
- County Road 31 and Road 3 intersection
- County Road 8 and County Road 23 intersection
Characteristics of a Roundabout:
- Low speed on approach
- Approaching vehicles yield to traffic within roundabout
- Vehicle drives counter-clockwise within roundabout
- Low speed on exit
- Continuous movement of traffic
As roundabouts are relatively new to the network, additional information related to how roundabouts work and how to drive a roundabout can be found at the following websites:
- Roundabouts from Ministry of Transportation (MTO)
- Roundabout primer on the Region of Waterloo's website.
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