[All] Tar and Chipping continued?!!!

[Kevin Thomason]

Lulu,

No need to worry - the Wilmot Line is still gravel throughout the entire ESL (Environmentally Sensitive Landscape) area.  What you have witnessed is just a result of the weather recently.  If they grade the Wilmot Line when it is wet (after a rain) and then we get several days of dry weather the traffic will compact the gravel to almost a cement-like consistency.  It is very firm and can be quite smooth looking almost like asphalt.  It can stay like this sometime for weeks until the weather gets wet again and then it will quickly degrade into a series of pot holes and gullies.

There should be no way that any tar and chipping or paving can be done in the ESL area until an Environmental Assessment (EA) is completed.  While it seems that Wilmot Township is eager to proceed with the EA, others such as the City of Waterloo and Region of Waterloo will need to be included and it could take some time to even just define the scope and agree on the parameters to be studied let alone carry out the assessment and the public input required.

In the meantime regardless of the EA, we still have to deal with the outstanding traffic and safety issues on the Wilmot Line.  It certainly seems that there is now more traffic than ever, going faster than ever - the opposite of what we want in an environmentally sensitive area.  The City of Waterloo hopes to be able to clear the snow from the roadway this winter without the use of any salt though only time will tell how successful this will be on some of the hills on the section that was tar and chipped back in July.  

I am optimistic that we will be able to work this autumn to ensure detailed traffic counts occur several times a year on the Wilmot Line, speeds are reduced, truck traffic is removed, and steps are taken so that safety is improved for the many cyclists, joggers, hikers, horseback riders, etc.  So far the City of Waterloo and the Region of Waterloo have been very supportive though the Township of Wilmot has been quite difficult to work with and has completely ignored our concerns about volume of traffic, speeds, and safety.  We will keep working on things and hopefully start to make some positive progress with Wilmot Township.

Let us know any questions or ideas.

Cheers,
Kevin.

----------------------------

On 2011-10-07, at 11:36 AM, Louisette Lanteigne wrote:

> Hi folks
> 
> I brought my husband to work today and I started thinking of Fred Schneider, Albert Norris and Mr. McNally, three men who have contributed so much to this community. I was moved to take a drive along Wideman Road and I had a gut feeling that there was something for me to see. I could not rationally explain why but in my head it was as if Fred wanted to show me something. 
> 
> I stopped adjacent to Fred's property on Wilmot Line, and I could hear his voice in my heart that said, "touch that road". I opened my car door and touched the road and it was pretty rock solid. I could not wipe or scrap the dirt off the road. I believe it was recently tar and chipped. It's tricky to see at first but I believe that they have actually tar and chipped the rest of the road at least up to Wideman Road. When it's first laid out it's actually hard to tell because the material is loose when first deposited and it is compressed with car traffic over time but you can see it pretty clearly when you drive just north of Paul Pupulo's house that the road is hard and getting smoother and shiny.
> 
> I'm no road expert personally speaking but I'd really appreciate it if someone else could go take a look at that road and verify if it is indeed, tar and chipped. 
> 
> Lulu
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