Residents want their road paved: Addington Highlands Council, June 19, 2006

by Jule Koch Brison

A delegation of Hartin Road residents petitioned council to tar and chip their road this year. Debbie Wilson, spokesperson for the group, read out a letter she was presenting to council. She said that residents “can’t stand to be outside because the dust is uncontrollable, even with the calcium chloride.” The township has spread crushed limestone on about half of the two-kilometre road, but Wilson said that has made the road worse as now there is major washboard and residents are bearing heavy costs in vehicle repairs. She said there are about 36 people on the road, in addition to hunt camps; that it wouldn’t take much to tar and chip the road, and that the township would save money in the long run on grading and maintenance. “Please help us so we can live, drive and breathe easier,” she concluded.

Reeve Ken Hook asked Roads Superintendent Royce Rosenblath how priority is established for tarring and chipping township roads. Rosenblath said that traffic volume is the criteria. He said it would cost about $40,000 to tar and chip the Hartin Road initially. The surface would have to be redone every six years at a cost of about $1000/km, about the same cost as calcium chloride. Rosenblath couldn’t give the costs for maintaining the road as it is for the rest of the year.

Reeve Hook told the delegation that council had already gone through the budgeting process and the township just did not have $40,000 to do the work. “We would have to take money away from work that’s already scheduled to be done elsewhere,” he said. Council passed a motion to consider tarring and chipping the Hartin Road in 2007.

The township is applying for a $75,000 Trillium grant to build a new skateboard park/basketball court/playground at the Lions Club grounds in Northbrook . The Lions would lease the land free to the township for seven years, and maintenance of the facility would be mainly done by the newly formed Addington Highands Recreation Club. An additional $25,000 of “in kind” contributions, mainly from the township’s roads department, and $15,000 in donations from the community would be needed to build the park.

Council passed a bylaw to authorize voting by telephone/internet for the 2006 municipal elections.

Council received a letter from two children, 11 and 10, asking them to do something about speeding on the Freeburn Road . One of the girls said she was almost hit by a truck while riding her bike.

Reeve Hook ruefully noted that previously the road was in such bad shape that vehicles had to go about 10km/hr. “Seems we’ve created a new problem [by fixing the road],“ he said. The letter was deferred to the roads committee meeting.

Speed humps will be soon installed on the Weslemkoon Lake Road, several months after they were requested by some residents who live on the road.