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Councillor is familiar with Mono man’s road woes

October 10, 2024   ·   0 Comments

By JAMES MATTHEWS

At least one Mono resident hopes the street on which he lives will benefit from his own new plan to manage roads.

Mono resident Mark Fitzpatrick asked council if the southern portion of Mono-Adjala Townline has been assessed according to the criteria and the standards set out in the 2025-2034 Road Management Plan.

Fitzpatrick said he has shelled out about $1,000 for vehicle repairs in the last year because of the potholes and pockmarks on Mono-Adjala Townline.

“It should benefit from the same consideration as the rest of the township,” Fitzpatrick said.

The management plan, which was developed by R.J. Burnside and Associates and delivered to council at its Sept. 10 meeting, identifies all roads that require attention within a 10-year period. It spells out the recommended action for rehabilitation, preventative maintenance, and the timing and financial impact of the best course of action to maintain roads.

The financial analysis indicates that an average annual capital and maintenance budget increase of $600,000 is required to maintain the municipality’s overall road network condition at its current level.

That much extra money for roads in the 2024 capital budget would have rendered a 6.4 per cent tax increase. As it is, residents were faced with a six per cent increase this year. That means taxpayers would have had a 12 per cent tax increase had the extra $600,000 been earmarked for roads as outlined in the plan.

Currently, the town budgets about $3.6 million annually towards road capital and maintenance improvements for the entire inventory of thoroughfares. The municipality has about 250 kilometres of gravel, asphalt, and concrete roads in its inventory.

Although the report does not recommend converting any gravel roads to asphalt, it has established pre-screening criteria for upgrading gravel roads.

The overall network has a 73 pavement condition index (PCI) rating.

Historically, Public Works has been able to maintain the asphalt and concrete hardtop road network at a satisfactory average of about 73 PCI. Industry standards generally acknowledge that the average hardtop road network should be managed at a PCI of 70 or greater for the asset to reach its full useful life.

In Fitzpatrick’s question to council during its Sept. 27 meeting, he speculated that R.J. Burnside would have found that Mono-Adjala Townline’s PCI would be the lowest in the area.

Mayor John Creelman said he believed that section of road is another municipality’s responsibility.

Matt Doner, the town’s public works and roads superintendent, said that, if Fitzpatrick is referring to the portion of road between Highway 9 and Hockley Village, that stretch falls under the Township of Adjala-Tosorontio’s jurisdiction.

“We did not include that segment of road,” Doner said. “We started at Lot 16, just north of 15 Sideroad up to Highway 89. That’s Mono’s maintainance portion.”

Councillor Ralph Manktelow suggested Fitzpatrick contact the roads department at the Township of Adjala-Tosorontio for some more information.

“I agree with (Fitzpatrick),” Manktelow said. “There are potholes there and there are places where it’s bad. I drive it quite frequently, so I’m very understanding of (Fitzpatrick’s) concern.”

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