Stratford councillors grumble over roadwork

Town wants to control projects instead of province

STRATFORD — The wheels of change are turning far too slowly for a Stratford town councillor who wants the town, not the province to control road work.

Coun. Emile Gallant let rip at the October monthly meeting of Stratford town council Wednesday.

“I have said this many times over the years, but until we get control of the roads in Stratford we aren’t going to be able to make those decisions, what roads will be done,” said Gallant.

Coun. Steve Ogden had gotten debate started on the issue.

Odgen wanted the record to show his disappointment that the P. E. I. government will not be installing a sidewalk along Keppoch Road between Bonavista Avenue and Park Lane.

“I just wanted to express my extreme disappointment that wasn’t going to go ahead this year,” said Ogden. “Everyone had been led to believe that it was going ahead.”

Ogden went to area MLA Alan McIsaac and got an indirect response from the Minister of Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal, Robert Vessey.

“( He) said because of budget constraints and unforeseen projects they are unable to proceed with that,” said Ogden. “It’s something I think should be done, it was planned, it is part of phase- one of our sidewalk plan and I hope we are able to do it next spring.”

Jeremy Crosby, manager of public works told council that the project is “shovel ready” and he has confidence the provincial government will do the sidewalk first thing next spring.

Roads and sidewalks are the responsibility of the provincial government in Stratford and all other towns across the province.

The town submits a priority, or wish list every year but the province calls the shots and does the work.

That is not a good system, said former provincial court judge Ralph Thompson in his Dec. 2009 Report of the Commission on Land and Local Governance.

The report called for a new Municipal Act and a new formula for funding municipal governments.

It also called for a new way to manage roads in towns and communities.

That effort to rethink road work is continuing to this day in the hands of a sub- committee, said Stratford Chief Administrative Officer Robert Hughes.