It’s Spring, and as per usual, the road at the corner of Bay Lake road and Hwy 62 is in rough shape. In fact, thanks to high traffic from transport and lumber trucks, that road junction is always in rough shape. Have you ever blown a tire on a pothole? It’s actually possible!
I’m yawning and waiting behind trucks trying to turn on to 62 just to get my kids to school. Sure, it’s annoying. But this is just 2 trucks. I’m starting to wonder what will happen if this proposed Freymond-Fowler quarry is allowed to go through and 20 more trucks an hour come through this intersection.
I’m also wondering about the economic impact for two of my favourite patio businesses – Bancroft Brew Pub and The Granite. But beyond these concerns, and my sleepy irritation in daily life: I know I have very real concerns. I want – and we deserve – more information about what the traffic affects actually will be.
When I went to the public information session the applicants for the quarry licence hosting, the traffic representative at the public session could not provide any explanation or a mitigation plan regarding how the significant increase in truck traffic will affect Bay Lake Road, particularly when trucks are travelling north onto Hwy 62.
While The Applicant is proposing to make a right hand turning lane off Highway 62 onto Bay Lake Road, they make no mention of the already limited space and frequent traffic congestion on Bay Lake Road due to existing logging operations at Freymond Lumber.
Also a significant number of trucks already going to and from Freymond Lumber go into oncoming traffic due to the limitations of space. This is already a dangerous issue for residents and should be addressed.
With the addition of significantly more trucks per day, there has been no mention of mitigation plans to ensure traffic safety in this area (e.g. widening the road).
- Bay Lake Road requires continual maintenance and currently is in need of significant work (e.g. large pot holes located outside of the Freymond Lumber driveway and at the intersection of Bay Lake Road and Hwy 62). It is unclear who will be responsible for the maintenance of the road considering the fact that the significant increases in truck traffic will result in significantly more maintenance.
- With the addition of significantly more trucks per day, there has been no mention of mitigation plans to deal with the large amounts of dust that will be produced.
Do you have similar concerns?
Help us protect your slice of perfection in Bancroft: we deserve more information
Help! We only have until end of June 2019 to fundraise all the expert opinions we need to show Hastings County that they have to demand more information to protect our freshwater supply, the environment, existing tourism businesses, and the many many year round and seasonal residents safe from the next 50 years – the proposed lifetime of the Freymond/Fowler quarry. Donate to our GoFundMe page to help. If you require a tax receipt we’ve also set up NoSmallChange donation site just for you.
