Take Back Your Road, Mr. Ford

Re: “Roads on Us” (Letters, October 1). I don’t agree with our County campaign to get the Federal Government to pay $52 million to rehab County Road 49.   

The County website notices ask me to lobby Federal representatives, and in the meantime put up with my Provincial Government treating Prince Edward County like an underdog. 

The Province’s $20 million towards re-building County Road 49 only covers about one third of the cost to fix a road that they need to take back.

Ontario’s Conservative Government needs to fix its own mess and upload County Road 49 to the province. The Ford Government has done this for other communities, so why is Prince Edward County getting short changed? 

The Ford Government is spending $56 million to fix County Road 174 in the Ottawa area, before it uploads it, correcting a past mistake of the Mike Harris Conservatives who downloaded the road.

In Toronto , the Don Valley Parkway and the Gardiner Expressway are properly being uploaded to Provincial responsibility. County Road 49 is part of a highway ring, joining Hwy 49 on the Bay of Quinte Mohawk Territory, Hwy 401, and the Loyalist Parkway. 

It was wrong for the Mike Harris Conservatives to download the road. In exchange we were told that the Province would upload education. Meanwhile they are letting school maintenance crumble as badly as County Road 49.

I think there’s a reason roads like County Road 174 in Ottawa, and the Toronto Roads are getting uploaded to the Province.

Those areas campaigned for years to get the province to do the right thing. Our Mayor, Council and staff need to do the same thing and campaign to send County Road 49 back to the province.

Irene Harris, Sophiasburg

 Picton Town Hill a Disaster Waiting to Happen

I am a fairly recent Picton resident (almost three years) and I couldn’t be happier with my decision to move here. However, I am incredulous about the situation of two very dangerous road safety concerns in my immediate vicinity.

I selected a home on Bridge Street, obviously understanding it’s busy. What I did not realize was that the noise would be dramatically increased, and safety of children and animals in jeopardy, due to the excessive speed of the many trucks, motorcycles and vehicles on the town hill. They speed without any fear of reprimand.

These vehicles are constantly moving at 100 or 120 km/h, especially going down the hill. Speed limit signage consists of one 50 km/h sign a good distance away. There is no clocking of speed, no “Slow Down” signs, and never a police officer sitting nearby to demand some accountability. 

Exiting my driveway is not for the faint of heart, as the visibility is next to nothing with a curve in the road and vehicles speeding past.

Shortly after I moved in, I went to the OPP detachment to express my concern, file a complaint, and ask for solutions, including some police presence to deter speeding. Nothing happened.

Meanwhile, it is impossible to believe a community would tolerate the fact that there is no safe crossing at the town hill. Every day I see people, many tourists, who, understandably, don’t realize that traffic doesn’t stop in all directions, almost get killed or hurt. And get yelled and sworn at. Yet there is no way to cross the street. 

People need to be able to safely cross the street at or near an intersection, not considerable distances away.

Managing the traffic at this intersection, both of vehicles and pedestrians, seems to be an insurmountable challenge for the town to sort. Surely, for the safety of children getting to school and the visitors managing our streets, we can fix this disaster waiting to happen? How can our elected representatives keep their heads in the sand? Or sleep at night?

I am filing a complaint and request for action for both issues with the Traffic Advisory Committee, the Mayor and again with the OPP. Any other advice is most welcome.

Thank you for your attention and support for effective resolutions for these dangerous situations.

Lauren Richards, Picton 

Thank You from the Rod & Gun Club

We would like to thank everyone who came out to the Prince Edward Rod & Gun Club’s Open House and BBQ on August 23. Our MPP, Mayor, & several councillors were among the 70 guests who joined us to see why sport shooting is one of the fastest growing sports in Canada. The smiles and looks on their faces said it all. They had a blast.

This was our first Open House since COVID and a rehearsal for next year , when the club celebrates its 80th anniversary. Our donation jar yielded $300 for the Picton food bank and I am sure we will do better next year.

Heather was there from the Canadian Shooting Sports Association along with Fred Armitage from The Gun Course Guy in PEC,  giving information about licensing, training & insurance and dispelling the myths associated with our sport. 

We learned that we need to have more Jumbo dogs, and I need to get a bigger pot for my chili. We will be starting to plan for the party early in the new year. Stay tuned to the local media as well as FB and Instagram. 

Bob Rogers, Vice President, Prince Edward Rod & Gun Club