Minden Hills coun. Shirley Johannessen has asked staff to investigate the possibility of flashing lights for the pedestrian crosswalk at Water Street and Bobcaygeon Road in the downtown area.
She would further like the public works department to consider signage to let motorists know of other roads that provide access to Hwy. 35.
She made her comments at an Aug. 29 council meeting.
While thanking staff for making a longer stretch of Water Street a community safety zone, and installing mobile speed devices, Johannessen said she is worried about pedestrian safety across the downtown.
“The area where Water Street and Bobcaygeon Road meet has been an incredible eye-opener this summer,” she said. The councillor added there is probably a road safety report in existence for the busy intersection, but it likely needs updating.
“The (vehicle) back-up on Water Street has been concerning. The safety of pedestrians is our first priority. Currently, they are beelining it across the courtesy crosswalk to get to the other side for safety. Can we not install flashing, dedicated lights for the crosswalk?”
Johannessen, who works at the nearby Dominion Hotel, added, “the honking and yelling of near hits and misses has been disheartening. We need to make it safe for people visiting the downtown core.” She added directing people to other roads to Hwy. 35 would lighten the load on the downtown core.
Director of public works, Mike Timmins, said he was not opposed to flashing lights but the discussion would have to go to the 2025 budget. He feels it would be “pricey” but is willing to come back with budget estimates.
The councillor also wanted clarity on fire hydrant replacement along Hwy. 35, noting water would have to be turned off to businesses.
Timmins said he and a representative of the Ontario Clean Water Agency (OCWA) had visited nearly every Hwy. 35 business to inform them of the works expected to take place over the next month. He said they would do their best to keep businesses up-todate and minimize disruption.
On Tuesday, the township said water main maintenance is happening Thursday, Sept. 5 along Hwy 35. The affected area is expected to be from Booth Street to the end of the water main north of County Road 21. Addresses 84-90 Water St. may also be affected. Residents and businesses in the affected area may experience reduced water pressure or a complete loss of water for a short period of time. The water shutdown is planned to take place early in the day to limit disruption to businesses. Township staff will make every effort to avoid complete water loss, however it may be necessary for the repair to take place. If discolouration is experienced in the water, run faucet(s) until the discolouration clears. Normal discolouration during this process includes rusty or cloudy coloured water.
Council chamber roof
Council voted to award the tender to replace the roof over the council chambers.
It will go to ICI Roofing Ltd., for an estimated cost of $121,600 plus HST and will include a $10,000 electrical contingency. A second bidder, Industrial Roofing Services Ltd., was more than $330,000.
Timmins said they had budgeted $110,000 for the job. He said the shortfall could be funded from property reserves, which has a $333,000 balance.
Council is, however, holding off on replacing 14 bollards along the Riverwalk that were damaged by vandals in May.
Staff were looking to approve a tender at a cost of $6,400 plus HST, funded from the park reserves.
However, coun. Ivan Ingram thought it made sense for staff to investigate other lighting options, since the bollards are close to the ground, and can be easily vandalized or damaged by equipment, “something that will stand up better to the environment and vandalism,” he said. For example, he mentioned more like a taller streetlight. Coun. Tammy McKelvey agreed, saying the bollards are, “hard to come by, almost obsolete.”
Director of community services, Candace McGuigan said staff would look into it and report back to council.
Support for CAS
McKelvey asked that a motion passed by Highlands East, against Children’s Aid Society cuts in Haliburton County, be pulled for discussion, with Minden Hills approving a similar motion in support of the local social services agency.
Coun. Pam Sayne agreed with McKelvey, “I think we need to jump on this and respond right away. There might not be information on this, but there are kids out there who need this help yesterday.”
The CAS announced in July it would be closing its Haliburton storefront next year and laying off one full-time staff member.
