Kawartha Cycling Club
Open letter to the Mayor and Council, City of Kawartha Lakes, May 26, 2009
The executive and membership of the Kawartha Cycling Club are increasingly concerned over the gradual deterioration of paved roads around the City, to the point that in 2009 many of our traditional cycling routes are no longer useable, being too rough for enjoyable or even safe riding.
Both asphalt-paved and chip-and-tar surfaces around the City have suffered from water infiltration and frost damage, literally tearing up surfaces, leaving potholes, extended cracks, and very unstable road edges. On major area highways, such as #8 between Fenelon Falls and Bobcaygeon (as but one example), the asphalt at the road edge, where cyclists of necessity spend most of their time, has separated and migrated toward the ditch, leaving broken and loose paving, potholes, and extended cracks parallel to the shoulder, all of which make cycling difficult and sometimes dangerous. Factor in the increased likelihood of the effectively-narrowed road and broken surface sending a cyclist into the path of passing cars and trucks, and you have a life-threatening situation.
Not being able to comfortably or safely use Road #8 cuts off bicycle access to Fairbairn Road, Cedar Tree Road, #25 (Sturgeon Point Rd) or #30, even were they in good condition, which certainly cannot be said. Further north, maintenance of #37 (Bury’s Green Rd) has been ignored to the point that even cars and trucks avoid it. South of Lindsay, consider the state of Halter Rd, Hillhead Rd, River Rd, St. Mary’s Rd, Lifford Rd, . . . The list could literally cover the City.
There are obvious implications to this breakdown in City road maintenance: for cyclists, both local and tourist, it means loss of recreational and health-supporting opportunities; for the community at large it means commercial loss and health-care cost. In addition, the demonstrably increased risk of personal injury (if not loss of life) for cyclists – both from falls and from contact with cars and trucks – points directly to significantly increased liability exposure for the City.
At the same time, the KCC recognizes that the City faces financial constraints precluding an immediate massive road restoration and upgrading program. However, this does not mean the City cannot (perhaps with infrastructure assistance from other levels of government) embark on a much more systematic repair, resurfacing, and upgrading program with particular attention to wider, paved shoulders. This would, over a span of years, make our roads much more attractive and safer for all, locals and visitors alike, whether driving (car, truck, tractor, horse-drawn buggy, snow plow, emergency vehicle, . . .) or cycling. The KCC would welcome an opportunity to play a constructive role in bringing this about, not through studies and surveys of the obvious but by helping establish a priority list of roads and specifications which can direct corrective action over the long term and give more value for the tax dollar than a simple patchwork approach.
Signed
Mike Gorman, KCC President