Lake Waseosa Ratepayers' Association

The following is the text of our presentation to the Public Works and Protective Services Committee on Dec. 6, 2011.

As all present should know, this issue arises from the inadequacy of North Waseosa Lake Road to safely handle the large trucks needed as part of the Green's Haulage quarry operation on Jessop Lane. As the LWRA demonstrated as part of the Roads Needs study process, the width of N. Waseosa Lk. Rd. does not meet even the standards for a cottage road; the tight curves force trucks off the roadbed and across the centre line at their apex and off the roadbed when meeting oncoming traffic.

There are three possible solutions to the problem. The first appears simple at first glance: ban trucks from N. Waseosa Lake Road. This is unacceptable for two reasons: First, in the absence of an alternate route this will not withstand the inevitable OMB appeals from Green's Haulage and the other existing businesses that rely on this road for access to their property. Second, and perhaps more importantly, this town desperately needs the economic contributions of these businesses. We are already reeling from the impact as employers from Algonquin to Tembek close their doors. We must encourage and support all that remain, no matter how big or small.

The next possibility is to upgrade N. Waseosa to a suitable standard. In many ways this is the most advantageous for the greatest number of people as it would address the problems of all large vehicle traffic, from school busses to delivery trucks. Unfortunately, given the current financial straits and general economic circumstances, it is clearly not something the Town can afford to fund at this time.

The third option is the one being considered today: reduce the hazard by diverting the most problematic trucks to a safer route. Obviously extending and upgrading Stahl's Road will not divert all truck traffic from N. Waseosa. It is aimed at the longer trucks (triple axle trucks, transport trucks, pup trailers, etc.) and obviously traffic destined for other destinations will not be reduced. Since the cost of extending and upgrading Stahl's Road will be largely borne by Green's Haulage, this seems to be the only affordable way of improving road safety in our area at this time.

Understandably, most or all of the 13 residents currently served by Stahl's Road oppose the proposal. They are used to living in isolation on a nice quiet dead end street and are concerned about the noise and increased traffic they will face if this comes to pass. It could be argued that the residents of the Waseosa area are simply trying to foist their problems onto the residents of Stahl's Road. The flip side of that argument is that Stahl's road residents are unfairly expecting others to shoulder the entire burden - the old "Not In My Back Yard" (or in this case "Not In My Front Yard") debate.

While we sympathise with their desire for peaceful enjoyment of their property, the LWRA position is that this is a question of risk management and cost/benefit analysis. Risk is the product of two factors: severity and frequency.

Like N. Waseosa, Stahl's road does not meet the Town's own standards for width. The twists and turns of N. Waseosa force trucks to overhang the centerline and/or onto the narrow shoulder the while reducing sight-lines significantly. The longer the vehicle, the greater the effective width of that vehicle while cornering. Compare that to the arrow-straight run of Stahl's Road. Long trucks do not take up any more width than short trucks on a straight road. Therefore, all else being equal, the straighter route poses the least severity of risk

Stahl's Road currently provides access to 13 properties. One of those is a commercial dog kennel and can therefore be expected to generate some measure of additional traffic compared to a residence. There are 40 residences and several small businesses that directly front on the route from the intersection of N. Waseosa and E. Waseosa Lake Roads.. There are in excess of 160 properties beyond the intersection of N. Waseosa and Jessop Lane that can only be reached by traversing the same section of road, and therefore add significantly to the traffic volume. There is an additional load during the summer months when seasonal residents have house guests. Without the benefit of a complete comparative traffic study then, one can expect current traffic volume on N. Waseosa to be 15 times that of Stahl's. The Stahl's Road route is the shorter of the two. Therefore the trucks will be on the secondary road for a reduced distance and period of time. These two factors, reduced traffic volume and reduced distance, minimizes the frequency of risk.

On the subject of traffic flow, we understand that someone has raised the spectre of Jessop Lane becoming some sort of emergency highway by-pass should Stahl's Road be extended. Quite frankly, we are scratching our heads over this one. Jessop Lane connects N. Waseosa with Boundary Road near Novar, and can be traversed at certain times of the year. So technically, this potential highway by-pass already exists. However, it needs a horse or off-road vehicle to do so, and we're not too sure about the horse. It's a goat path over a sand pit. Mr. Green proposes to enter Stahl's Rd. directly from his own property, not by travelling up Jessop Lane. Nothing in this proposal includes any sort of work to Jessop Lane and we fail to see any reason it would see any traffic increase should Stahl's road be extended across it.

So risk analysis shows Stahl's to be the preferred route. How about the cost/benefit picture? Stahl's is the shorter route. Increasing the width of Stahl's would seem to be cheaper than increasing the width of N. Waseosa. There is a low-lying area at the eastern end that may be challenging and "challenging" always means more expensive. However, we have it on good authority that there is a source of high-quality aggregate readily at hand. Any costs must be considered against the cost of wider pavement and shoulders over the longer N. Waseosa route. Staff will have to conduct further research for a meaningful comparison. 

The biggest cost advantage of the Stahl's Road route is of course that it will largely be sponsored by private enterprise, not public coffers. Tim Green is a businessman and this is an investment for him. In exchange for his largesse, the upgraded Stahl's road would not be subject to the spring ½ load restrictions. This is the kind of public/private partnership that municipal wet dreams are made of! Such an investment in the municipal infrastructure cannot be dismissed lightly and weighs heavily in favour of the Stahl's Road route. Note that this proposal is still subject to the cooperation of the railroad, who are responsible for the crossing at Highway 11.

There is some concern that the new route will be ignored by northbound drivers, who will gravitate to the shorter N. Waseosa route rather than turn around at the interchange and proceed to Stahl's Road. Mr. Green cannot guarantee that this will not occur, at least, where it involves independent contractors and other third parties purchasing aggregate from the pit. This is a matter best addressed through by-law control. Many municipalities throughout Ontario have designated truck routes that limit the size of trucks on secondary roads, with exceptions for deliveries and garaging where no alternate route is available. Such a by-law would be of potential benefit throughout the Town, not just this specific case.

In conclusion, while the LWRA would prefer to see a solution that abates all truck traffic concerns on North Waseosa Lake Road, we concede that it is not economically feasible at this time. Therefore we support this proposal in principle as the next best means of bolstering the local economy.