Grey Highlands council has approved the construction of a new sidewalk in Flesherton.
At its meeting on April 17, council approved a staff report that suggested the construction of 200 metres of new sidewalk along Highway 10 leading into downtown Flesherton. The work is part of the Connecting Link project in Flesherton that started last year and is being completed this spring.
The report noted that currently there is no sidewalk on the east side of the highway between Margaret and Collingwood Streets. Working with the contractors, staff prepared an addition to the project to add a new sidewalk and retaining wall along that section of the highway.
The estimated cost of the work is $219,345, not including HST. Staff told council that the sidewalk will add some time to the completion date for the Connecting Link project, which was expected to finish up in May. The funding for the extra work could come from the municipality’s OCIF infrastructure reserve or be added to the long-term debenture to be used to fund the municipality’s portion of the work.
Chris Cornfield, director of transportation and public safety, said staff brought the proposed sidewalk forward because the development standards for Grey Highlands call for sidewalks on both sides of arterial roads. He said now would be the time to get the work down when contractors are already on site in order to avoid a “hindsight” situation “down the road.”
Members of council were supportive of the initiative and voted 6-1 to approve the work. Mayor Paul McQueen was the lone opposing vote.
The mayor cited the municipality’s budget situation as the reason he couldn’t support the extra expense.
“It’s a nice ask. We just came through a tough financial budget here,” said McQueen, noting that the extra money could be used for other projects.
Other members of council disagreed.
“The time is now to do the work,” said Coun. Dan Wickens.
Coun. Nadia Dubyk said the additional sidewalk was a significant benefit to the community.
“This is not a 'nice-to-have,'” she said. “There are safety and walkability issues.”
Coun. Joel Loughead noted that the municipality’s own development standards called for improved sidewalks.
“This isn’t sort of a superfluous addition. This is where I think Grey Highlands should be going,” he said.
