Former Premier Danny Williams is taking the City of St. John’s to the Supreme Court after they insisted that a new roundabout be constructed in Galway.
Williams’ company, DewCor, sought building permits but the city’s response included a demand for a traffic study on the intersection near Starbucks and Costco.
He says the results of that study concluded that a traffic light was suitable—but the city wants a roundabout. So, Williams got a second opinion, which also said a traffic light was suitable.
To that, the former Premier says he got the “typical ‘our way or the highway’ answer.”
Williams says a roundabout is far more costly, and would be the sixth one in a half-kilometer stretch.
After the final refusal, the company looked into whether the city has legal grounds to make such a decision, and now they are looking to have it reversed on several grounds.
Williams argues that the city is “abusing their discretion under the law…to act in a reasonable manner,” and that they are not abiding by their own statutes given by the provincial government, such as seeking ministerial approval and publishing notices.
Williams says “they say you can’t fight city hall, but…I can’t afford not to. So I can take them to court and I will take them to court.”