The Downtown Residents Association is calling on the city to make changes to the neighbourhood.

At Monday evening’s city council meeting, association members David MacLellan and Nathan Millar presented council with four resolutions the group had approved to lobby the city for.

The first would call for the city to develop safe connections among pathways along the waterfront and escarpment.

The second is making the reconstruction of roads in the Old Town area of downtown a priority.

The pair then went on to also call for the reconstruction of Sixth Avenue to be done next year.

As Millar argued, the road has “urgent and necessary infrastructure needs” which have continued to be put off.

The work originally outlined for 2013 was put off until 2014, then to 2015, when it was then pushed two years ahead to 2017.

The most recent proposed four-year capital spending plan, released last week, doesn’t even show the work, Millar pointed out.

The final resolution put forward by the group calls for the city to work on reducing the impacts of P&M Recycling on the neighbourhood.

Residents have been complaining about the high traffic, noise and such from the facility on Ray Street.

As council members asked questions, the focus turned to the roads in the area.

Coun. Roslyn Woodcock wondered about the streets in Old Town.

A resident of the downtown area herself, Woodcock said her recollection was that most residents of Old Town did not want their streets rebuilt. She then wondered if there had been a change.

Millar acknowledged that “not everyone” is in favour of such work, but pointed out there has been “an evolution” in residents’ desire to improve the roads, particularly from those on Wheeler Street.

He noted the group has collected signatures from residents who want to see improvements to the streets, and would at least like to see the process begin.

There also continue to be concerns about dangers of the Black Street roundabout.

Many residents avoid the area due to the number of vehicles which don’t slow down as they go through the traffic circle.

Questioned by Coun. Samson Hartland on whether the association has been part of the 2016 budget discussions, MacLellan and Millar noted their hope the presentation would be part of the public input the city is seeking on the capital budget.

Mayor Dan Curtis, meanwhile, was quick to point out the city is often directed on where it can spend federal infrastructure funds it receives. Funds are often tied to specific projects that have to receive federal approval, he said.

The city is proposing a budget of more than $16.1 million next year.

The long-term plan would see the city spend more than $58.3 million in 2017 (largely on the building consolidation plan), more than $7.4 million in 2018 and finally, more than $4.7 million in 2019.