Construction season has arrived and starting next week in Sudbury, crews will begin making changes to Second Avenue in the city's Minnow Lake area.

At a public information session on Monday evening, residents and business owners raised questions about the $8 million plan to overhaul Second Avenue.

The city of Greater Sudbury said it wants to widen and reconstruct the avenue, from Donna Drive to First Avenue; which will include a bike path and sidewalk for pedestrians.

Watermain improvements, along with reconstructing Margaret Street are also part of the plan

But it's getting mixed reviews.

“There's several reasons, one being the condition of the asphalt, it’s in need of repair,” said David Shelsted, City Roads and Transportation Services director.  

“The other one is congestion in terms of motor vehicles, so there are a lot of people using the roadway, in addition to needing some pedestrian improvements and cycling improvements. There's sidewalk on one side of the road currently, so we'll have sidewalks on both sides of the road and there's no formal cycling infrastructure through this route, so we're going to introduce a cross ride and a multi-use path at different locations to provide a continuous flow for cyclists.”

“We feel that probably three lanes, with bike lanes with a centre turning lane, would have been ideal for this particular section of roadway,” added John Lindsay, Minnow Lake Restoration Group member.

City officials said the bulk of the road work will be finished this year, with surface asphalt and restoration to be completed in 2018.