Opposition to the proposal of a roundabout on Wellington Road 14 (Frederick Street) through Arthur remains strong among residents, and a delegation from Wellington County will meet with Wellington North council before proceeding with the planned reconstruction of the road.
Over the objection of Wellington North Mayor Andy Lennox, the roundabout was included as a $400,000 intersection improvement in the 2015 Wellington County budget that was passed on Jan. 29.
A delegation of Arthur residents represented by Steve McCabe and Wayne Baker presented county council with a petition containing 370 names opposing the roundabout at the Feb. 27 county council meeting.
McCabe, a Wellington North councillor, stated he was “here only as a resident of Arthur” and was bringing concerns on behalf of other residents.
“I feel obligated to be the voice of the many residents that are afraid of roundabouts, in particular when they read the horror stories of this type of roadway in the Kitchener region. Going to Arthur and Mount Forest arenas to watch the local hockey team, people are approaching me with fear in their eyes for what this means to their local roads and the safety of the residents. I am here today to share how many residents feel, because they sense that they have not been heard,” McCabe told council.
He said residents are “grateful” for a public meeting held last March, “but are now seething with frustration that the result of that meeting was deemed tainted.
“Shouldn’t the public have a say in what goes on in the area that they live in?” he asked.
McCabe said residents fear roundabouts because the information they have consists of “horror stories” from the media.
“Our residents doubt that traffic flow will be improved and fear that pedestrian safety will be compromised,” he said.
McCabe and Baker noted that while a small number of residents were on hand for the county council meeting, the petition is evidence of widespread opposition to the proposal.
‘Bitter medicine’
Baker told the Advertiser he had only to approach 113 people to get the first 100 signatures on the petition. Of that number, he said only three are in favor of the roundabout while 10 expressed no preference.
“This feels like very bitter medicine to swallow when we don’t have a cough,” McCabe stated.
Baker told council that while gathering names for the petition he found “there was a prevailing frustration” among residents that “their voices were not being heard at council.”
Baker said councillors should consider “if that attitude is only in Arthur, or if it is a more prevailing attitude county wide.”
Baker issued two challenges to county councillors, the first to “come to Arthur and find one person who is in favour of the roundabout.”
The second challenge is for councillors to ask themselves if they would be sitting at the council table if their opposition “had received an extra 370 votes (the amount of signatures on the petition) in last October’s election.”
Following the presentation, Warden George Bridge advised the group that a delegation from the county, including the county’s director of operations Gord Ough and representatives of Triton Engineering, had already been scheduled to attend the March 23 session of Wellington North council.
The warden urged Wellington North councillors to “gather up questions” from their constituents for that session.
“I think we really need to get an education,” said Bridge.
Later in the meeting, Lennox urged all county councillors to attend that March 23 session, for which he suggested, “We may need to move to a larger venue."
