Half measure

Council to spend $500,000 to keep Union Road open

The County doesn’t have enough money to fix all its pitted and barely passable roads. Yet, last week council decided to put $500,000, over two years, into Union Road—the 550-metrelong link between County Road 2 (Belleville Road) and Highway 62.

Union Road leaves Belleville Road and descends the escarpment on a narrow, crumbling path before spilling into the collection of homes known as Mountain View. Near the bottom, Cannery Road spurs eastward to Highway 62. Union Road continues a few dozen metres to its own junction with 62. The road is rough and lumpy and has been patched many times.

County Works staff has, in previous years, suggested closing access to Union Road from Belleville Road. They warn that the road is unsafe and the cost to make it safe is likely in excess of $1 million.

County Works chief Robert McAuley explained that reconstruction would require cutting into the rock to make enough room on the escarpment. On the other side of the road, work would be needed to shore up the shoulders steadily pulled down the hill. Work is also needed on the lower portion to smooth out the roadway,

But advocates of keeping Union Road open at both ends argue that barring access from Belleville Road denies motorists this heritage experience. Besides, they argue, there has never been a serious accident, despite its narrow contour and steep decline

In the past debates about the fate of Union Road as a throughway, McAuley has presented council with a sample of recent court awards to accident victims in Ontario, in which the municipality’s road conditions were at least partially at fault. Each settlement cost the municipality, or its insurer, millions of dollars.

Sophiasburgh councillor Kevin Gale said he couldn’t support closing Union Road or spending $1 million to fix it. He would be in favour of $500,000 for Union Road, if the other half allotted could be used for other roads, such as Bethel Road in Sophiasburgh.

Other councillors said it was wrong to keep both ends open.

“It is the epitome of a waste of money,” said David Harrison, councillor for North Marysburgh.

Sophiasburgh councillor Bill Roberts noted that a good alternative is less than a minute away.

“It is not fiscally responsible to keep it open at the top,” said Roberts.

Treat Hull, councillor for Picton, urged the closing of the escarpment portion.

“It’s a lot of money for a shortcut,” said Hull.

Councillor Jamie Forrester grew weary of the haggling.

“Either spend the million dollars to fix it properly or develop an alternate solution,” said Forrester. “But spending just half a million simply means we will be back here in a year or two.”

Still, when the vote came, a majority supported the half measure.