After concerns about potholes and poor road conditions became a hot button issue in North Dundas earlier this year, it seems that many residents now have something to smile about. Several roads in North Dundas have been undergoing maintenance this summer, including culvert replacements and paving, though it is unlikely that public outcry had much influence on these decisions since road maintenance requires significant pre-planning.
One local road which was given major upgrades was Clark Road in Mountain. Clark Road first had a culvert replaced in July, followed by pulverization in early August, and full paving later in August. The road was paved from the railroad crossing on the edge of the town of Mountain, up to the Boundary Road which boarders North Dundas and North Grenville. The improvements to Clark Road came less than a year after a resident of the road went public with the news that he had a sign stolen from his front yard. The sign had encouraged those who were unhappy with the road to contact Mayor Tony Fraser with a complaint, and the Mayor’s Township email address was written on the sign. The resident alleges that he witnessed a Township marked vehicle steal the sign from his yard, and that after complaining about the theft to the Ontario Provincial Police, his sign was recovered at the municipal office in Winchester.
Another road which has seen significant improvements is Development Road, from Van Camp Road to the place where it meets County Road 3, east of South Mountain. Development Road had been plagued by significant large potholes for years, and its condition was a frequent source of conversation amongst Mountain and South Mountain locals.
This year’s road improvement projects have also included the paving of Belmeade Road and Marionville Road, both on the Township’s northern edge. Culvert’s have been replaced in other roads as well, though the Township is only responsible for work completed on local roads, not county roads. In one case, a culvert replacement by the United Counties on County Road 1 in Hallville became a collaboration, as additional space was left for a pedestrian pathway which will be installed as part of the Hallville Community Park project.
It is common for municipal property tax payers to lodge complaints about road conditions, since the state of local roads is often one of the only visible signs of tax dollars at work – or not at work. However, paving and improving roads is very expensive, and improvements to local roads are therefore taken on as small projects, with only a few completed each year.
