A complaint about the condition of a sideroad by neighbours led to a discussion about road repairs in general, but no commitment for an immediate solution to residents’ complaints.
Residents from Sideroad 12 were at council as a delegation on Aug. 16. Resident Dan McIntyre requested time to talk to council, but noted in a letter he was unable to attend, so others would speak for him.
He explained that in July, 18 neighbours on Sideroad 12 met to discuss their concerns about the road.
“One of the biggest fears communicated at our meeting was that the recent changes to our road surface will drastically reduce our property value and the time required to sell our properties,” McIntyre said in his letter.
The road had been a hard surface of tar and chip, but the township converted in back to gravel this year after it was badly torn up in the spring.
McIntyre said that will “deeply impact the value of 19 high-density rural estate properties on this small section of road. A number of residents indicated that had the road been in its current state they would not have purchased their current properties. That is the best indication of real estate values I can think of. Simply put, our houses are now worth less than they were a few short weeks ago.”
The other major concern, he said, is speeding. The current limit is 80km/h and that has remained, even though the road is now gravel. He said there are 17 children living in that area under the age of 16, and it is a safety concern.
The neighbours want the speed reduced to 60km/h on a 700-metre section.
At council, resident Dale Martin said the township removed the hard top without any immediate plans to replace it. He asked council to make a commitment to repave it next year.
Mayor Bruce Whale noted Public Works Director Larry Lynch was not present, but Whale said, “It is our intention to have it paved next year.”
Martin said the concern is there is no firm commitment to do that – only intent.
Councillor Mike Downey agreed that while there is intent, that “could change.” He said the road was built with tar and chip seven years ago, and, “It didn’t stand up.”
Downey said instead the road became “a cost of the municipality” and this spring, people ignored the half load limits on that road. He also explained the difference between tar and chip and paving.
Resident Kevin Roantree said he has a paved driveway and is not sure it is fair to have a gravel road “when you tax the way you do.” He said residents get their road plowed in winter, but that is all the service they receive. He added they haul their own garbage to the dump.
Downey said, “I’m not sure council is ready to commit.”
Whale said council had recently completed a road tour and has $800,000 for roads this year in asphalt and gravel, but there are bridges to maintain, too.
He said council is “trying to come to grips on how to phase road work.”
Whale added that right now, the township does not have a five-year plan for road building and maintenance.
“We know it’s an issue,” he said. “It’s not a city street. Rural roads get to the end of their useful life.”
Martin said he knows the tar and chip road “took a lot of abuse” but he wondered if council cannot pave it next year, “Can you tar and chip in a reasonable amount of time?”
Downey pointed out council received “a lot of complaints about the road towards the end of spring,” and said that stretch of road was so rough “We couldn’t keep it” in that condition, so council turned it back to gravel.
He added that installing the tar and chip surface on that small section ten years ago was a mistake that should not have been made.
Downey did agree council could consider a decrease in the speed limit, but he added he lives on the opposite end of the road and there is “no way” to get drivers to slow down in the country to a slower speed limit. He also noted a good way to see increased speeds is to pave a road.
Martin seemed to agree that speeding is unlikely to be completely curbed, but he noted people will often drive 10 to 20km/h faster than the speed limit, so if the road is set at a limit of 60, “There is an impact.”
Whale asked if the concern for speeding is the concession road or the sideroad, and Martin said the sideroad.
At the intersection there are times drivers do not stop at the stop sign, Roantree added.
Whale said council will be dealing with a five-year road plan sometime this fall, “so we can look down the road farther than six months.” He added council is aware of the problem, and he hopes it can find a remedy soon. Staff will bring council a report on a speed limit reduction.
