Essex Council postpones Walnut Street detailed design a second time

June 6, 2025 admin

By Sylene Argent, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Essex Free Press

Council for the Town of Essex voted to again postpone making a decision on the detailed design for the Walnut Street reconstruction during the June 2 meeting.

This was the second time Council voted to postpone making a decision on the matter, with the same outcome taking place at the May 20 meeting.

Previously, it was explained that 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 a Council-driven project, and 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.

David McBeth, Manager of Capital Works and Asset Management, 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: Urbanized 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.

The anticipated completion date for all three options is 2028, based on the Town’s five-year road’s plan. Unless, Council directed it to be done earlier for Option 1.

All options are financially feasible, pending on approval from Council at budget time, McBeth noted. The existing detailed design budget has around $160,000 remaining, so any change order required by the consultant to do the work should be within the budget, McBeth said.

McBeth added the location of the sidewalk would be determined during the detailed design phase of the project. The Town is also working with the Harrow Fair Board to get that fence pushed back on the west-side 1.5m to assist with winter control.

Deputy Mayor Rob Shepley asked if the fence would be moved for all three options, or just Option 3. McBeth noted if – during the detailed design phase – the sidewalk is best to go on the west-side it would be preferred to move the fence.

Shepley was willing to support Option 1. Walnut Street is not the greatest road in terms of condition, but it is also not the worst. He was good with whatever decision Council made on how to move forward on the matter.

In answering Councillor Rodney Hammond’s question on if the Town has been in contact with the Harrow Fair Board, McBeth noted a meeting between the Town and the Board has taken place. The Town is still waiting on a response from the Board regarding the fence. He wanted the road to be prioritized to be completed

.Councillor Katie McGuire-Blais received emails from residents in favour of all three options. In this decision, she does not think Council will make everyone happy. As she was torn on the matter, she was thinking of following Hammond’s lead as the Ward 4 Council rep.

Her own opinion was to go with Option 3 in bringing the road up to the Town’s standard. She didn’t understand the reasoning of moving ahead with a cheaper option.

Director of Infrastructure, Kevin Girard, noted as this was a Council-driven project, administration wanted to provide options. He understood Council wanted to prioritize the road, but warned, with the detailed design still needing to be completed, the earliest it could be completed would be 2027.

Mayor Sherry Bondy also heard split feedback from the community, and wondered if more time should be given for public feedback.

Back in 2014-2015, this project was admin-driven, Bondy explained. At the time, it was on the Town’s Roads Plan, and she told residents it was coming, based on that.

In the motion to move forward with Option 1, the motion failed in a three-way tie.

McGuire-Blais then moved to postpone the decision until the July 7 meeting, giving Council a few more weeks to get more public feedback. That passed.

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