“The traffic study is stuck in the mud,” said Ancaster Councillor Lloyd Ferguson at Monday’s Ancaster Community Committee meeting.

Ferguson plans to discuss the issue in a meeting March 5 with provincial Ministry of Transportation staff, city officials and Hamilton’s two Liberal MPPs, Ted McMeekin and Sophia Aggelonitis.

The key stumbling block, said Ferguson, is a lack of westbound access to Highway 403 from Golf Links Road.

Despite city of Hamilton plans to add a new 403 access, Ferguson said the proposal has been rejected by the province.

Mohan Philip, master plan project coordinator, said the issue remains under discussion between the city and the ministry.

“I would say, of course, it is a major difficulty we are facing,” Philip said. “At this point, there is no solution.”

During public information centres for the master plan, residents have stressed the need to reduce traffic volumes on Wilson Street. During morning and evening rush hour, hundreds of cars travel through the Ancaster Village Core to reach 403 accesses west of Meadowbrook Drive. A westbound 403 access from Golf Links Road is expected to alleviate much of the congestion.

Philip said the dispute over the 403 access has also delayed plans to reconfigure the intersection of Wilson Street East and Rousseaux Street.

“We have not come up with a preferred solution at this time,” said Philip. “Depending on the westbound access, that intersection would perform in a different way.”

Philip said the city has received comments and a petition that urges the creation of a pedestrian-friendly environment for the Ancaster Village Core. A petition with 1,327 signatures was presented to Hamilton city council last fall. Among its recommendations, the document urges no additional turn lanes or road widening along Wilson Street to facilitate traffic flow, wider sidewalks and off-road biking trails.