MILLIONS INVESTED TO STOP RIVER POLLUTION AND BASEMENT FLOODING
City council approved a $5 million contract Monday – the most expensive infrastructure project in years – that will make a real difference in how much sewage the city pours into the St. Clair River during a storm.
The project encompasses five city blocks and will remove 20-30 catch basins that currently overwhelm the system, says David Jackson, general manager of the city’s engineering and operations department.
The $5 million contract includes reconstruction of Wellington Street from Brock to Queen, Victoria Street from Davis to Wellington, and Queen Street from Wellington to Talfourd.
Arkona-based Birnam Excavating Ltd.will do the work beginning in early April on Wellington near Queen Street.
The roadwork, which will replace the watermain, water, storm and sanitary services, the road, curb, gutter and sidewalks, will continue through the summer into the fall. Jackson said parts of both Vidal and Brock will be closed to traffic at various times.
A second contract for road reconstruction along Tecumseh and Rose streets near Imperial Oil was also approved by council Monday. Cope Construction won the $2.28 million job that also includes sewer separation.
Together, the projects will go a long way in reducing sewer overflow into the river, as well as reducing the amount of sewage requiring treatment, said Jackson.
“We’re doing the work in an area that typically has a lot of old watermain breaks,” he said. “This is more sewer separation work than we have ever had in one year. It’s really going to improve the environment.”
While the projects were approved by council votes Monday, the bylaws that are required to move them forward were not passed due to an abrupt adjournment of the meeting. The adjournment was precipitated by an outburst from Coun. Bill Dennis who refused to stop throwing out accusations and insults to his fellow councillors.
It’s not known when council will reconvene to pass the bylaws.
City council acknowledged about 20 years ago that Sarnia’s aging infrastructure was contributing to pollutants in the St. Clair. The city embarked on a program to get rid of approximately 40 kilometres of combined sewers. About 24 kilometers have been separated to date. It may take another 15 years to finish the job but 2024 will move the plan ahead significantly once the bylaws are passed.
Stuart Street is also scheduled for sewer separation and road work this year but that contract has not been put out to tender.
In total, Jackson said he anticipates this year will see $8.7 million spent on sewer separation, the most in any single year so far.
Numerous federal government grants have supported Sarnia’s sewer separation, including one worth about $1.5 million this year. The city is paying for the balance primarily with money raised through sewer and water rates.
DON'T COUNT YOUR CHICKENS BEFORE…YOU TALK TO CITY HALL
A Sarnia couple who have six chickens that produce free-range eggs on their large property could lose them if the city doesn’t change its bylaw.
Laurie and Dean Frayne live on a “four-lot” property on London Road and say they acquired their chickens last fall to reap the health benefits of eating their own eggs.
Their chickens have also become family pets, each with a name, and are enjoyed by the Frayne’s neighbours and grandchildren.
But a single complaint triggered a visit from a city bylaw officer who says the couple is contravening the current bylaw that states only smaller Batham hens are allowed within city limits.
Bantam hens don’t produce eggs large enough for consumption, Laurie Frayne told council Monday.
She asked council to allow Sarnia residents to house as many as 12 “standard size laying chickens.” Living conditions must be clean and secure, and each chicken needs at least three cubic feet in their enclosure, Frayne said.
Sarnia’s bylaw related to backyard fowl was written in 1992 and needs updating, the Fraynes told council.
“Even the bylaw officer said she wished it would come to council,” said Dean Frayne.
Many municipalities in recent years have allowed and expanded backyard chicken laws, noted Coun. Anne Marie Gillis.
Permits are common in many places, she said, adding that council should proceed with caution.
“We have to be cognizant that we are dealing with an ideal situation with the Fraynes. That’s not always the case. It could go very badly, very quickly,” Gillis said.
Mayor Mike Bradley also warned that a new backyard chicken bylaw could ruffle a lot of feathers.
“It is highly controversial and will be difficult to come up with a bylaw that works,” he predicted.
City staff was directed to have a report with several options available for council discussion in the fall.
ADDRESSING TRAFFIC CONCERNS NEAR TECUMSEH PARK
City council’s response to multiple complaints about speeding traffic near south end’s Tecumseh Park is to reduce the speed limit to 40 km/hr from 50 km/hr along Russell and Palmerston streets.
A staff report noted there have been eight collisions at Russell and Divine streets over the past six years. Another seven collisions were recorded at Devine and Ontario.
Apart from lowering the speed limit, council approved other minor initiatives to calm traffic. They include painting lines on the roads to designate travel lanes, on-street bollards to encourage drivers to slow down, and painted ladder-style crosswalks.
E-BIKES ARE ALLOWED ON TRAILS AND PATHWAYS FOR THE NEXT YEAR
Peddle-assisted e-bikes will be allowed on local trails during a pilot project that is to last one year.
E-bikes equipped with battery packs for a little extra push in hard-to-peddle areas, encourage persons with limited mobility to get out and about, said a staff report from David Jackson, Sarnia’s chief engineer.
At the request of the Bluewater International Granfondo group, a survey was conducted among 424 local respondents to see if there’s support for e-bikes on the city’s trails and pathways. Fifty-five per cent were not in favour.
However, staff suggested a one-year trial period and council supported it. Only Coun. Terry Burrell and Coun. Bill Dennis voted against.