By Sylene Argent, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Essex Free Press
Members of Essex Council unanimously voted to postpone making a decision on the detailed design of Walnut Street in Harrow during the May 20 meeting.
Through the 2022 Capital Budget, Walnut Street South in Harrow is currently being designed for reconstruction. This will make improvements to the road and watermains.
Since this project is Council-driven, and considering the recent delegations to Council for vehicular movement and parking on Walnut Street South, Administration sought Council’s direction on the design of the roadway, David McBeth, Manager, Capital Works and Asset Management, explained.
T.Y. Lin International Canada was awarded this project at the same time as the Irwin Avenue reconstruction project in Essex Centre.
McBeth’s report details that this company has been working on the engineering design for Walnut Street South since 2024, which also includes the reconstruction of Murdoch Street off Walnut Street South.
Through inspection, McBeth told Council that sanitary and storm sewer infrastructure on Walnut Street are in good condition and do not require replacement. Only the watermain is required to be replaced.
Based on recent delegations to Council, regarding parking and driveway issues as it relates to semi-trucks making deliveries to Sanford and Son Supermarket, the Infrastructure Services Department wanted to solicit Council’s direction for the road design for Walnut Street. He presented three options.
• Option 1: Keep Walnut Street with a rural section, no curbs, conduct a full depth mill and pave, and construct a consistent granular shoulder for parking on the east-side of the road. This would cost an estimated $2.4M
• Option 2: Urbanize the road section, including a full reconstruction of the roadway from the granular base up, in order to install the concrete curbs. The roadway width would be kept the same way it is currently, which is six-meters. Parking would be eliminated. The estimated cost is $2.8M.
• Option 3: Urbanize the road section, with a full reconstruction and road-width of 7.9meters. This section would allow parking on the east-side, but would require relocating existing hydro poles on that side of the road. The estimated cost is $3.2M.
Administration recommended Option 1, which would allow the project to proceed based on the current five-year capital plan and possibility sooner, depending on the cost-estimate for final construction cost from the engineer.
According to his report, Option 1 would allow for this project to proceed in 2028.
In answering Mayor Sherry Bondy’s question on when the project could proceed based on Option 2 and 3, McBeth noted it is possible to proceed at the same time, but Council would have to allow the funds as they would cost more money.
There is the potential to reallocate some of the watermain funding and hot mix asphalt project money to help offset the cost of the overall capital project, and allow it to potentially proceed faster.
Councillor Rodney Hammond’s concern is getting the project done sooner rather than later. He said it is long overdue.
Councillor Katie McGuire-Blais asked why on this road the Town was not looking to bring it closer to its own standards? McBeth noted the original design was to move forward with Option 2. With current issues with parking and driveways, if curbs are installed down the road, the movement of the trucks will be impacted, so too could the neighbourhood.
McGuire-Blais was leaning towards Option 2, as it would bring the road back closer to the Town’s standards and could prevent delivery trucks driving onto people’s yards. The only negative would be the removal of the on-street parking. She asked how many residents park on the street currently.
Hammond, the Ward Rep, said the on-street parking is needed primarily during the Harrow Fair weekend. He saw value in Option 3 to get the project done correctly.
Garon agreed with McGuire-Blais. If the Town has a standard, it should stick to it. Councillor Kim Verbeek also supported Option 2 as it would improve stormwater management.
Councillor Jason Matyi would pick Option 3 with better stormwater management, curbs, and on-street parking. He called it a full plan.
Mayor Bondy noted Council could postpone making a decision for one meeting to get more public feedback.
McBeth added that not every road can be urbanized, based on grading, but this one could be.
Councillor Brad Allard asked about the location of the sidewalk. McBeth explained there is a sidewalk for a portion of the road on one-side. He added the location of the sidewalk is not 100% determined. He said Community Services had issues plowing the sidewalk adjacent to the Harrow Fairgrounds. The Town has approached the Harrow Fair Board about moving the fence back five-feet, but has not heard back yet. That would help determine what side the sidewalk would go on.
Deputy Mayor Rob Shepley wanted to see the road get finished. He saw the value in postponing the decision, giving Council more time to connect with residents and take a site visit. He would like an indication of where the sidewalk would go.
CAO Kate Giurissevich explained that though the roads plan has been adopted, the budget has not. Each year, staff brings forward a list of roads, which could change depending on pricing.
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