It might not be the most glamourous line item for a City of Estevan budget in recent years, but the residential roadway rehabilitation that will be starting this year is vital nonetheless.
Council approved the budget at Monday night’s meeting, after giving the public two weeks to provide their input. In the document, you’ll find an assortment of capital items, both big-ticket and small. Some of them will happen thanks to government support. You’ll find operational expenses and a commitment to continue to pay down long-term debt.
And you’ll find the start of the residential roadway rehabilitation plan, with money to resurface Smith Street, Yardley Place and Hastings Place.
The city has actually done a pretty good job on most of the arterial roads. The eastern half of Fourth Street was resurfaced last year. Most of King Street and Souris Avenue have been taken care of in the past decade. Kensington Avenue is in reasonably good condition, at least in the highest-traffic areas.
Yes, the city received government support for many of these upgrades to happen. Yes, Perkins Street needs attention, as does Sixth Street from Souris Avenue South to Kensington Avenue. The downtown blocks of Fifth Street could also use some asphalt.
But this is still better than the days when Souris Avenue North would be a perennial contender for CAA Saskatchewan’s Worst Roads contest.
And we don’t see as many Facebook pages complaining about the state of our roads as we used to.
Still, we have a lot of residential roads that are due for resurfacing.
Some of have been taken care of through the water main replacement program. And it was encouraging to see the city resurrect the program a few years ago, even if the execution of the program caused frustration for some.
The asphalt and concrete patching program that the city has for roads affected by water and sewer main breaks has also been beneficial. We remember the frustration that used to exist with roads that would not be patched for a couple of years after a water or sewer main break. (Think the corner of Smith Street and Arthur Avenue, or the intersection of Albert Street and Bannatyne Avenue). You had areas riddled with potholes, and it reflected poorly on the city.
These patches are a good short-term and medium-term solution.
A nice coat of asphalt that will last for at least a couple of decades is not only nice to drive on, but it helps attract people to neighbourhoods.
With this project happening, a couple of things are needed.
The first is a long-term commitment from the city. It can’t be something that they have for two or three years, allows them to take care of some of the more troublesome roads, and then is halted, with a pledge to get around to it again in the future.
There are enough roads that need to be taken care of that this should be a part of the budget for years to come.
And the public needs to be patient. You might think that your quiet residential road needs attention. You might be right. You might think it needs to be the top priority. Again, you might be right, but there’s a good chance that there’s a road that needs resurfacing more.
You might think the city should do more than a few roads a year, at least at first, but keep in mind this is expensive. If you want to see more roads resurfaced, then taxes have to go up, or the city has to make significant cuts to other departments.
With a project like this, no matter what the city does, people will be dissatisfied.
But it’s good to see the residential roads are getting the attention they need.
