By Connie Tabbert
Editor
COBDEN — Finchley Road residents are upset about the lack of gravel on their road. Each of the nine residents wrote to council about the horrible conditions caused by the lack of gravel.
“I received a phone call from Mr. Bill Nieman advising me that he had a petition from the residents on that road,” said Councillor Cathy Regier at last week’s council meeting. “I didn’t realize until he brought it to me, it was actually a letter from each individual on that road.”
She noted the residents aren’t complaining about the bad condition of the road, just the lack of gravel on it, she said. Nine or 10 years ago, the road was resurfaced with gravel and over the years it has been graded away.
“They’re looking to have it built back up to the standard it was nine years ago,” Coun. Regier said. “There is a stretch along that road of about 200 metres that is really, really bad.”
Reeve Don Rathwell agreed with Coun. Regier. There is clay in the centre of the road and with the fields alongside the road higher, it was decided, about nine years ago, to raise the road higher than the fields to alleviate water sitting in the centre of it, he explained.
“Through the years, we’ve graded it off,” he said. “It does need gravel. I was on it the other day and where we put the gravel it’s certainly gone down.”
Public works manager Bill Misener said he spoke to some of the people who live on that road.
“I encouraged them to write letters so council would know please don’t cut my gravel budget,” he said. “Our gravel roads are in terrible shape. We need to keep that money in there. It’s not just paved roads we’re dealing with. It’s also the gravel roads that we need to keep money in them.”
While he didn’t make any promises, Mr. Misener said he would certainly try to get gravel on Finchley Road this year.
Councillor Daryl McLaughlin questioned if there would be a roads tour this spring.
Reeve Rathwell, who is chair of the public works committee, noted it’s too late for for a roads tour this spring. He said Mr. Misener and chief administrative officer Christine FitzSimons and himself could make a tour and see what the roads are like.
He suggested possibly a roads tour with council could be done in the fall.
Ms. FitzSimons cautioned that if council gets onto a bus, it’s considered a public meeting and the public has to be invited. If the bus fills up, those who travel in cars must be given an itinerary of where and when the stops along the roads tour are going to be.
Coun. Regier said with this being an election year, possibly a spring roads tour next year would be much better.
“I know when I came on, we had one (a roads tour) and I certainly learned a lot from it,” she said.
“There were roads I travelled that I didn’t even know were in the municipality and it was just a good starting point to see, especially for a new councillor.
