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The City of Windsor has begun the environmental assessment process for a new entry and exit point for the Twin Oaks Business Park, which is home to the NextStar Energy battery plant.
It will hold a public information centre at the Forest Glade Community Centre on Thursday at 4 p.m.
Coun. Kieran McKenzie said he’s ecstatic to see the project moving forward, and he credited sustained advocacy by workers and residents in the area for keeping it on the city’s agenda.
“This was originally unbudgeted, but you know, the mayor and administration and council ultimately supported … allocating the funds to be able to … make this project go forward,” McKenzie said.
“Once it was clear to everybody that we had a situation that wasn’t sustainable … this project moved very, very quickly.”
McKenzie said he expects the new access to be completed in 2027.
Previous access route closed to make way for battery plant
The city closed off E.C. Row Avenue to Banwell Road in 2023 to make way for the construction of the NextStar Energy battery plant. Since then, the only way in and out of the park has been through Twin Oaks Drive off Lauzon Parkway.
Businesses in the park say that’s led to heavy traffic in the area, making it dangerous for workers and customers.
“We all think something needs to be done,” business owner Mark Parete said in 2024, when he started a petition.
In January 2025, a woman died after being hit by a pickup truck while trying to cross Twin Oaks Drive around Munich Court, the Windsor Police Service said at the time.
Windsor’s Ward 9 councillor Kieran McKenzie. (CBC News)
Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens used his strong mayor powers this past January to direct city staff to present options for an additional access point from the park – along with timelines and costs.
Council then passed a motion at its Jan. 26 meeting to begin the process of planning the new access point at an anticipated cost of $1,475,000.
While the city completes the work, an agreement with the battery plant owner will ensure that the former access point from E.C. Row Avenue to Banwell Road can be temporarily reopened in emergency situations, McKenzie said.
A report to city council in February 2025 found there had been two emergency situations in the business park since the road was closed.
“During both occurrences, traffic within the business park was blocked from exiting the area for an extended period of time while emergency services responded to the emergencies,” the report said.
“On both occasions, NextStar Energy agreed to open up E.C. Row Avenue East in order to allow an alternate exit from the business park.”
The report also found that collisions at Twin Oaks Drive and Lauzon Parkway had increased in relation to the increase in traffic.
McKenzie thanked the people who have expressed their frustration with the situation for helping to move it along on the timeline that it has.