Pedestrians travelling to and from Pineridge must navigate the sloped shoulder of County Road 8 in summer and winter. The town sidewalk ends at John Street. There is no winter maintenance for pedestrians beyond that terminus, creating a safety hazard.

Council approved a $441,155 tender for a 375 metre sidewalk to Earth Crete, the lowest among six bidders, last week. “The new sidewalk extension will address the discontinuity between the sidewalk in the Pineridge Drive Subdivision to the rest of Picton and improve public safety for pedestrians,” said Project Manager Chris Timpson.

Work is expected to start immediately and to be completed by the end of the year. Mr. Timpson said the sidewalk was a legacy project originally budgeted for 2023, when staff set aside $152,529. The design process, however, made clear it wasn’t enough to complete the full scope of the work, which calls for stormwater management (curb and gutter), grading, and a retaining wall.

In order to fund the $283,273 overage, staff recommended funds be drawn down from the the Salmon Point Road and County Road 18 intersection project as well as the Urban Roads Reserve Fund.

Councillor Brad Nieman wondered if some of this cost shouldn’t have been borne by Pineridge developer Red Gate Developments. 

“This sidewalk should have been part of the subdivision agreement,” Mr. Nieman said. He suggested it be asked to share the cost of connecting their resident pedestrians to Picton.

Mr. Timpson said that staff could ask for some help from Red Gate, but they also didn’t want to delay this project any further as there are safety concerns.

Looking at the cost overruns, Councillor Janice Maynard wondered about drawing on reserves without replenishing them, and added that sidewalks and other connecting infrastructure must be baked into development agreements before shovels hit the ground.

“I count it as a bit of a learning curve,” said Councillor Phil Prinzen. 

“I’m not happy we are over budget but this is a safety issue and needs to be addressed. We will all be thinking about this the next time one of these agreements is in front of us.”