FERGUS – A Centre Wellington councillor is unhappy a large-scale road reconstruction project is being delayed and some Fergus residents are feeling the same.
Reconstruction of St. George Street East, from Herrick to Gartshore Street, in Fergus, was scheduled for next year but has since been deferred to 2022 due to budgetary restraints related to a drop in slots funds.
The $2.1 million project would see sidewalks built, new drainage sewers and a full road reconstruction.
The project was to be partly funded by revenue from the OLG slots revenue the municipality receives, but the Township of Centre Wellington is projecting a $2 million reduction in OLG payments this year.
Councillor Bob Foster, whose ward covers this area near downtown Fergus, said residents have been waiting for this work for many years and are getting fed up with a lack of action.
He noted that the same block on Hill Street, one street up, has the same issues with similar reconstruction work planned for 2023.
Foster said these roads are in deplorable condition and he’s been trying to get action from the township since he started as a councillor in 2007.
“The pavement’s broken, there’s no sidewalks and there’s also no proper storm drains,” Foster said. “They’re literally two of the worst roads in Fergus.”
Foster said he thinks it is unsafe for drivers to even go the speed limit as it is too bumpy and has heard concerns from constituents about their children’s safety while walking to school.
He’s also heard from residents that some have issues with wet basements when it rains and Foster said this is because the street uses culverts to drain stormwater.
Mark Holmes, a homeowner on St. George Street East for over 30 years, said he’s experienced enough flooding issues that his insurance company will no longer accept water damage claims.
Holmes said they’ve been waiting for years to see work done on the road and seeing others in town get fixed before is frustrating for residents on the street.
“I see Union Street get done years ago and then I see it get done again and we haven’t had this done,” Holmes said.
Terry Ryckman, who has lived on Hill Street for over 20 years, said the road has been the same since he moved in and has only become worse with time.
“The last five years have gotten really bad,” Ryckman said. “They’ve patched it and patched it, the watermain goes all the time.”
He noted that he often is woken up by snow plow blades scraping along the bumpy road.
Ryckman also said he doesn’t understand why the work keeps getting delayed over other projects.
“If they’re not important in the first place, why are you scheduling them?” Ryckman said. “The last 20 years we’ve been needing this road fixed.”
Ryckman said he wants to rally the taxpayers in the area and delegate to council about their concerns.
“We gotta' get a coalition together, which is what I’m trying to do, and have 50 of us go over there and crowd the council meetings and ask for a better explanation and for the road to be fixed,” Ryckman said.
In Foster’s view, this deferral is a symptom of an ongoing problem he’s seen since first being on council.
“We’re failing our residents on infrastructure renewal,” Foster said. “We spend too much money hiring consultants and getting fancy reports that gather dust and we don’t spend enough on our infrastructure.”
