The art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to get the most feathers with the least hissing. - Ascribed to Colbert, 1619-83

In these times we could hope for protection against discrimination by governments with the provision of equality rights in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms but, alas, these operate at the federal and provincial levels. And so, despite the fact that I pay property taxes only to the City, I feel that I'm completely disenfranchised by having my residence on a "County" road within the City.

I'm glad Mayor Bradley has heard much other hissing from ratepayers about a lack of extension of services they're paying for in the former Clearwater. Eight years into amalgamation a proposed review of taxation policy should reveal it's been one of, as an etapiste, which is to say, if the City had set out to rob you of a thousand dollars, it was content to do so a few dollars at a time.

As this sewer project was initiated by previous Councils and completed in '96 prior to the election of this one, my purpose is to see if there is now any opening for changes with all the new members. I hope this exercise of writing to Council and the others on the list can contribute constructively. Not only with what I feel is richly deserved criticism of what's happened in the past and the current effects, but also with what I hope will be seen as very positive suggestions as well found much deeper in this lengthy submission.

Speaking for myself, other than the road reconstruction, the news from the front is good. This resident's home is having reliable water for consistently functional household waste removal and depressing septic system maintenance is history, banished forever. And all delivered at a very attractive price with the system redesign by Mr. Gray's group and fortuitous timing when the job was bid. The "Road May Be Flooded" signs have not reappeared. I've watched a torrent of water course its way down the road edge (enhancing the rut there) to the grate on the drywell (a local storm water system used here) and so far have been impressed at the discharge capacity into sand to absorb these occasional downpours. The pipes work.

My observations are based on drywell #4 as can be seen on my schematic drawing: "Location of Drywell Grates with Respect to Asphalt Edge" found as Attachment #1 in this submission. A walk along this road on the very rainy day of Thursday, April 22/99 revealed that water still stands in places, especially between Drywells #2 & #3. Many of these structures on the south side of the road function only as a collector for the surface area of the grate making them, ah, ornamental at best. Ornamental would apply to virtually all at the north side of the road. Only the area of the concrete pad surrounding them increases the area drained.

Imagine how the poor drywell feels. Brought into this world to do a job but left high and dry because its symbiotic partner in dance, the curb, was not invited to the Lakeshore Road party. On the City streets of course, they're happy together, locked in embrace. As a third party was for the private roads and was by invitation only to the residents thereon, I won't comment on what happened there. If you examine this drawing closely you should be astounded at some of the "divergence". I can only say it's time to get with the program. Those unreliable measuring tapes of rubber have long been banned in local industry. Really!

Find below a copy of my letter to the editor of the Sarnia Observer published March 12/99. The Observer took the photo to better illustrate my point.

Lakeshore's 'paved walkway' dangerous

Sir:

With the entire Conservative caucus in Sarnia, it is indeed "a golden opportunity to give all government MPP's a first-hand look at our community," as our MPP, Dave Boushy, wrote in a recent Queen's Park report.

May I suggest our MPP personally give Transport Minister Tony Clement an escorted walk of a location in Sarnia the minister found to be an "unusual situation" in his correspondence to me.

Mr. Clement replied, after reading my submission to the CAA's Office of Public and Government Relations where I raised, in the CAA's words in their cover letter to the minister, "…, Mr. Sunaitis believes the situation to be unsafe and I am sure you can see why."

Preferably, Mr. Boushy and Mr. Clement will walk east from Murphy Road on Lakeshore Road's "paved walkway" and note their feelings as unseen traffic passes closely from behind.

I'm sure Mr. Boushy can explain from his time on city council how city-county relations contributed to this "unusual situation."

Hopefully, the province can intervene to bring this city-engineered road to Sarnia engineering standards with curbs and a proper separated sidewalk.

The location of the photograph appears to be where the road is 10' wider than further east as is indicated on my map that I submitted to the CAA. This you can find as Enclosure #2. The drawing is not to scale but the road measurements are accurate.

Besides both the CAA and the Minister of Transport weighing in negatively on the safety aspect, verbal contact with the Professional Engineers of Ontario elicited what I would call a groan and that "…such a construction would never be found in Toronto." There was a long pause before my contact asked how this came to be. I explained that it is a County road within City limits but with City Engineer Mr. McMichael's PEO Stamp of Approval on the project drawings including the road drawings. Within his reply was the remark: "…that certainly muddies the situation." Indeed!

Do keep in mind what I'm sure were among your first lessons as a child learning about traffic. I'm positive you were told to always walk facing traffic. Nowhere else in the City do you have a labeled "pedestrian walkway" that is part of a heavily traveled arterial road, albeit, separated by a solid white reflective line. Who likes to walk on a road with traffic zipping by? I certainly don't. Generally, cars will move over to give pedestrians a wider berth as they pass. This indicates to me that drivers, too, don't like people walking on the road. I'll also mention that a few years before reconstruction a cyclist was hurt after being hit by a car very close to my place. Both were going westbound and the accident occurred at that brief envelope of time when the sun can literally blind you as a driver. A neighbour recalls several other accidents on this road I'm not familiar with.

What follows is excerpted from my reply letter of Dec 16/98 to the Minister of Transport:

As regards your statement: "A painted walkway …[is] possibly safer than no sidewalk at all." Consider this situation that makes the converse more likely true. Motorists who are temporarily distracted - a sneeze, spilled coffee, dropped cigarette, unruly children, inattention, etc. - can easily wander unknowingly over the white line and collide with a pedestrian. This almost happened to me but I was walking towards the vehicle and so quickly moved out of the way. I don't think I would have been as fortunate had I been using the walkway in the other direction. Another neighbour has had a close call and curses the design too.

Although it's tiresome to make these submissions to get someone to condemn this vehicular/pedestrian interface (and there's an Assn. of Canadian Registered Safety Professionals, a Municipal Engineers Assn., the Transportation Assn. of Canada and the PEO yet), I would hope to have to go no further with Council than to excerpt the following from the 1998 edition of the City of Sarnia's "Engineering Standards for Design and Construction" that I believe are relevant.

STANDARD SPECIFICATION NO.4 - DRIVEWAYS AND ROADS

2. DESIGN OF ROADS AND DRIVEWAYS

1. STREET CLASSIFICATION

   I believe Lakeshore is to be classified as an arterial road as opposed to collector, local or minor-local based on number of houses and traffic volumes as shown on the chart.

2. CLASSIFICATION, MIN. ROAD ALLOWANCE AND PAVEMENT WIDTHS

Collector 26 Metres (86') 9.8 Metres (32')

Arterial 30 Metres (100') same

4. GENERAL ROAD DESIGN

c) The cross-section of arterial and collector streets shall conform to

OPSD 216.01 with barrier curbs. (Italics mine)

STANDARD SPECIFICATION NO. 5 - CONCRETE SIDEWALKS, CURBS,

GUTTERS AND DRIVEWAYS

2. DESIGN OF SUCH

2. SIDEWALKS AND DRIVEWAYS

f) Sidewalks shall be required on one side of all collector roads and

both sides of all arterial roads.

The Discrimination Aspect

As built, the City owned streets all have mountable curbs and street widths varying from 22.5' to 28' plus curb widths. The private roads were rebuilt to close to original widths but it wouldn't have been much of a leap to consider the turning radius of garbage trucks and known driver tendencies for the Lake Huron Parkway and Lakeshore intersection (and Pine) and lay down some more asphalt to keep the stones and potholes at bay. City Works occasionally scrapes them off Lakeshore when they get too unruly.

Had Lakeshore been defined as a City road, we could have expected a road width of 32' (instead of 24) and barrier curbs (instead of none). Notice a common strategy of some homeowners using small boulders to minimize vehicular induced ruts at the edge of the paved walkway, also the sloppiness at almost every intersection onto Lakeshore because of a lack of curbs. Sidewalks on both sides of this road are called for but instead we get this malignancy of a "paved walkway". Actually, I consider this to be the first instance of a proper, dedicated bicycle lane. I'll have much more on this later. I trust you can relate to my feeling of exclusion (No taxation without representation!) whenever I see proper rebuilds of and improvements to City streets. Durand, Exmouth, London, Ontario, Colborne, Cromwell, etc. as examples.

The offset of the drywells from the north road edge at various distances of approximately 5' to 7' means to me that the designers anticipated a time when these would be functional for a wider road and curbs. Hats off for that bit of foresight. Right now they work only to collect rain for the small concave cement pad surrounding them and as a gravel trap. As such, they are a monument to previous political foolishness. The other questions are why there is a 3-part sidewalk in front of Zorba's and M&M Meats and why the mountable curbs extend as far as they do east from the Murphy intersection.

What's especially disgusting is revealed in Mayor Bradley's correspondence of Oct 6/98 to me. This was a follow up to a conversation I had with him at the opening of M&M Meats a few weeks earlier upon which I'll elaborate first. When I asked about sidewalk costs he said that such would be the City's responsibility and were "horribly expensive". I recalled a time much earlier when at a council meeting a motion was adopted with no fuss to build a sidewalk on the north side of Exmouth to Lambton Mall road. "Didn't somebody get killed there?" was the Mayor's reply as the reason for the construction. That's my recollection as well. What a policy for getting an improvement!

With the recent expense of close to $700,000 in moral instruction (the land enquiry), I would suggest the City take a look at it's own. I hope it won't take somebody getting hurt before the rebuilt section of Lakeshore gets a proper separated sidewalk that you actually feel safe walking on. The great risk to the City, of course, is its liability should someone sue for creating an inherently dangerous situation to begin with. I think this risk is pretty much self-evident. I would bet any verdict would be a scathing indictment of this arrangement. Perhaps it would be prudent to replace the "No Parking on Paved Walkway" signs with something different. Or, if the signs remain, have the Mayor visit some area schools and explain to the kids why it's fine in this city to ignore their first lessons about encountering traffic.

Getting back to the Oct 6/98 correspondence, Mayor Bradley enclosed Mr. McMichael's estimate of Oct 2/98 from which I now quote:

"Further to our conversation today here are the estimate for curb and gutter along Lakeshore Rd from Murphy Rd to east of Mater.

If curb and gutter had been installed in 1996 during the contract we estimate a cost of $134,000.

If curb and gutter is installed now the cost would be approximately $305,000 owing to the fact that a lift of asphalt would probably be required to match the edge of the road.

Since this is a County road we would expect the County to absorb this cost whether now, or back in 1996."

At the City's anticipated cost of ~$3,250,000 for this job, this feature built at the time would be ~4% of project costs. For the actual bid of ~$2,000,000 it is less than 7%. Contingencies are typically 10% on a project I believe. WOW! What a missed opportunity to do the job once and do it right. This is grossly irresponsible financial management based on nothing less than the all too common stupidity in politics generally; of egos clashing and putting their own petty ambitions before the best interests of the people they represent.

In the Mayor's response of Oct 6/98 he summarized Mr. Michael's estimate and then went on say:

"I will forward this issue to City Council (italics mine) for their consideration at Capital Budget deliberations in 1999; however, given the other needs of the City, I would not like to leave you with the impression that the work is likely to be carried out."

I can only interpret this to mean the Mayor now feels it is the City's responsibility for an upgrade on Lakeshore as it has been all along for other internal streets that warranted such. The County certainly didn't think it was their responsibility to foot the bill and didn't. So we end up with the road rebuilt in this ridiculous way. The contrast with what's west of Murphy is blatant. Someone more familiar with the Sarnia-Lambton Act might better be able to comment on the legal responsibilities but, then again, these can always be muddied as well. Do recall that these relations between local governments have been sited in surveys as the number one reason for dissatisfaction in local government. A real grassroots response, if you will, fully documented in the Vision 2020 report of '95 as the source of "fragmented and wasted effort." This is certainly yet another more recent prime example from my perspective.

The turf boundaries have to be made clear so that you can have control in your own house. Only the Province can set the conditions so there can be equitable cost sharing. County Warden McNeil said it well recently in the Scope section of the Observer: "That's because we're all protecting the territory we represent. Everyone can understand the other people's issues but they may choose to ignore them because of where they came from." With ongoing restructuring of local governments, a new Municipal Act on the horizon and the imminent provincial election, this should be opportunity to make the necessary changes. I don't like being stuck in the middle. I've heard enough of the City chorus of: "Had this been a City street, it would have been done to City standards." In a similar vein, I don't think the County wants to think of itself as an obdurate obstructionist that would impede what should be a natural progression in development within City limits, notwithstanding the appeal of the "rustic look" to County Engineer Mr. Jim Kutyba.

It therefore becomes mandatory that the City be given exclusive control over how it would have the "County" roads within City limits improved. With what I would like to see adopted soon, in the soon to be released draft of the new Official Plan, there is no other way. Hope for wise politicians at the provincial level to be able to tweak the changes equitably so it can happen. Judge for yourself the merits of the proposals in the next several sections.

Today, Tuesday April 20/99, as I type this part, was a day on my bicycle. Before embarking on my two-wheeled excursion, I stopped in at City Hall and asked for a copy of the report of the Sarnia Bike and Pedestrian Path Committee. Lynn Bouchard, to whom I had spoken a couple weeks earlier about the current status of the committee, was unavailable at the time so I went off on my merry way and promised to return. My only reference to this report was from an Observer clipping dated Oct 26/98 that such would be presented at the next Council meeting. On my tour I saw nearly full parking lots and everyone looking cheerful, enjoying this glorious sunny day on the waterfronts. Moving about on cycle around the bay, in front of the water plant, towards the bridges, and through Canatara, I again appreciated the exceptional natural beauty we're blessed with here. Especially today, when the water was crystal clear and fishermen could actually see the trout in the water. I returned to City Hall and the staff at Community Services had a report ready for me. I would like to thank them here again for providing it. The first thing that struck me was the date on the report. Feb 4/98 it was dated and received by the City Feb 9/98. I have no idea as of this writing why 8 months passed before it was presented to Council.

Diverting briefly, consider the triumphant grant of $500,000 from the federal Millennium Fund to the St. Clair River Trail Committee for their superb achievement and groundbreaking set for next month. In his timely letter to the Observer's editor, Mr. John Walsh, Councilor of Bosanquet, praises the group's efforts: "Present and future generations will thank them and benefit from their efforts." He also writes about the Grand Bend Trail. This other sparkling effort led by the local Rotary club, with cooperation from local government raised $235,000 to make the trail a reality. Significant to me is Mr. Walsh's comment: "All the objections that had plagued the development of the trail have now dissipated."

I resumed my tour on narrow tired road bike with a stop at the east Modeland gate of the Howard Watson Trail. Like my experience in Point Edward, where I got off Front St. north of Michigan and onto the old rail line to take me onto their paved Waterfront Trail, riding the Watson Trail was unsatisfactory with my equipment too. A fatter tired bike would do nicely and I've seen from my many walks along this trail that such are happily used.

I next got on my bike around the Rainbow corner near Telfer and took the paved trail along the lakefront onto Old Lakeshore, across the rusty bridge over Perch Creek and came to a fork on the dirt path and so, like Yogi Berra, I took it. The one uphill leading to the Sun Oil Recreation Centre was more promising. I was able, after a few false starts, (and going on property marked private despite a cavity in the Armco crash barrier that accommodated a well-worn path), to get myself to a west gate of Huronview Park via the most northerly street that accesses the lakefront homes. Going east through the park I eventually got back onto Old Lakeshore and could see clear sailing to the east. I then bicycled west a block past Brigden Sideroad to the dirt path at the waterfront and was able to easily ride into Huronview Park. After this first time exploration of the area, I knew now the way back to my pickup truck and so backtracked. I cursed the impediment between the west side of Huronview Park and the east side of the Sun property. The disappeared road now resides in the delta at Walpole Island, never to return. As it once was there, could its old Right of Way Allowance still live there amongst the seawalls and groynes? I noted some of the steel now exposed in the water was in pretty rough shape and there appeared to be a way on the path, for a while at least, that led along the water after the fork.

I resumed my journey on 4 wheels and stopped to chat with a lady walking her doggie about to enter the paved trail lakeside in a stretch between Brigden Sideroad and Waterworks. As it would be, she's lived in Vancouver and yes they have a huge network of trails and loads of bike paths and lanes on the road just for them and the residents absolutely love them! I think I'm beginning to see a pattern here. Build it and they will come. Where constructed, trails and bike paths become immensely popular. Moving on after this pleasant interlude, I had to divert. But another paved trail would have been there for my enjoyment if I were on two wheels. Back again on to Old Lakeshore past Waterworks to the City limits at Mandaumin Sideroad. I couldn't help but think that this stretch with the awesome, open view could be tidied up pretty easily so people could feel comfortable walking and cycling on it.

After my day's exertions I knew I had to replenish some precious bodily fluids. The oasis of Skeeter Barlow's beckoned and so I heeded its call. Pulling into the parking lot I saw a pair of colleagues not seen for a long time and was obviously of like mind. That was pleasant coincidence enough and as we entered together and sat for refreshment I was amazed even more. One had the network of bike paths in the downtown area designed! As an everyday cyclist, he was of informed opinion how to make his way down to and around the water easier and safer. Hard surfacing of the RR Right of Way from Centennial Park to connect to the hard surface of the Waterfront Trail in Point Edward was a priority, proper pavement markings on city streets to get there and other details of his hoped for network were mentioned. I told of my own travels and of my need to try to walk the bike obstacle between the Sun Oil and Huronview Park properties. I thought it had a whiff of absolutely stunning potential because of Old Lakeshore's road allowance.

At home I gave time to the report. The other immediate impression I didn't state earlier was its heft. One hundred and six pages of text! This work is a piece of gold. Kudos to all the people involved in its creation! I've made some notes and will refer to these eventually in this submission.

I greeted Wednesday with the knowledge I must return to where I was the day before. The mission would resume to see if there was any validity for my breathless anticipation of possibility. With feet armoured in sturdy hiking boots, a notebook and measuring tape in hand, I set off on foot across the Perch Creek Bridge. What a relic this must be!

At only 16' wide from curb to curb, could it have been used for 2-way vehicular traffic way back when it was first built? How many of these still stand in Ontario? I figured a good blast with sand, some straightening of steel and a preserving finish would be all that's needed for it to serve admirably again.

South, on the land side of the dirt path beyond, the immediate signs were good. Trees were all in a row to suggest a limit of private property. Proceeding on the downhill fork along the water, the massive defenses against the lake's furies are evident. There are steel barriers in 3 distinct rising levels immediately. A capped seawall would be the front line at the water and go along the entire length until it gave way to the concrete at the west side of Huronview Park. Along this traverse there were no significant changes in elevation of the seawall nor a width less than 8' for a prospective trail. Only with the exception of a 2 foot plus diameter willow tree in one location was the passage squeezed to 5' against any structure to the south. Gabions appeared next above the seawall as another defense against the water. More evidence of trees all in a row as well as fences containing yards set considerably back from the water. As I made the gradual climb to the west side of Huronview Park I had the feeling of incredible exhilaration. This can be done! Physically, it's an easy job.

Brief reflection at Huronview made me realize this park is a jewel. There is an actual beach here. Oh sure you can get down to the beach along the seawall but it's rather a bother. Various stairs leading down to the water are in generally poor repair here. If you want to enjoy the water, then the public park is the place to go. Unless you're a resident of one of the properties that fronts the water. In this time of low water there is some sand for a beach but typically there's water at the seawall. I expect these folks occasionally go down for a refreshing dip, but any lounging around and basking is done at the top of the bluff with the better view and easier access to the fridge.

While retracing my path, I noticed a citizen about, hailed him and so it was that we came to talk. I spoke of my belief, that in this previously uncertain stretch, it could indeed come to pass that a walking/bicycle trail would be built. Unknowns to us both of where individual property lines lay ruled out pronouncements of certainty. But the gentleman did allow that yes, such could be built, albeit expensively in places. No argument there on my part. Creative constructs physical and financial will be required if this idea can start to Rock and Roll.

The man agreed philosophically with the desirability of public places but his personal experience tempered his enthusiasm. He thought there would be strong objections from the property owners along my imagined route if such were to proceed further to gather formal input. His concerns were of motorized wheels noisily reappearing to rupture the peace, the worrisome setting of unauthorized beach fires and the sad reality of vandalism in public places generally. He thought a loop around this area to the south would be easier and have a greater chance of success. I agreed it might be easier, but knew a water route of such gusto would be oh so spectacular and remains my choice, hands down.

Additionally, his conversation was sprinkled with references to earlier ones and the experienced Great Storm of '73 when the scramble was on to replace lost land with hundreds of truckloads of earth. And if not replacing dirt, then the expenses of many to prevent what remained from being lost. Other nuggets were the remnant indicators on his property of The Road That Once Was. These manifested themselves in the form of stones at the former road-edge, which remain by 100-year-old trees on the high land of his property. We engaged in speculations on the actual course of this lost road further afield. This material is in the newspaper archives for revelation but for my purposes I'm hoping I've realized a critical piece of information. Legal minds will know better.

From our conversation was his mention that it was public money that built the front line defense at waters' edge. If someone's private property does indeed abut this seawall, then I suspect there is sound basis for halting any path on land without the owner's secured permission. If this becomes a trailblock, what's to say supports can't be attached to the publicly funded seawall and a path go out over the water. Any Ironworker in the city can tell you this is sandbox construction compared to the human platforms attached to the distillation towers found in the Chemical Valley at substantially greater heights.

For that matter, it might be determined that for maximum usability in storms and durability against ice, at the point in the cycle of high water, a higher elevation is warranted than that of the front line seawall. This is implied with the secondary defenses all along, although, of course, this needs more study. Then put it up in the air over the water on cement-filled pylons. As some of the groynes have corroded away below the waterline, the seawall's structural integrity is questionable. For supporting lateral loads, they may be ending their useful life. Immersed metal in water can easily be protected against galvanic action as is commonly done for the freighter docks in the Valley and pipelines. Expensive yes, but in an integrated system I would certainly consider this option of a stand-alone structure over the water. Really, that's for later as this is effort is a trial balloon for the idea that the waterfront is the way to go. Intuitively, I figure it's cheaper than waiting to buy the land if it has to come to that.

Conceptually then, I see a bike/pedestrian path from the City limits, then all along the waterfront from Cow Creek going west and through the area in question I've devoted so much ink to. It goes over a newly rehabilitated bridge over Perch Creek to follow the shoreline to come to Lakeshore Road at the Rainbow Corner. This by itself is just an expanded fragment of a hoped for network that would eventually reach seamlessly to Canatara Park and beyond.

Consider this section alone for a moment. I hope this has generated some interest in the reader and they too can entertain the notion this could be a serious proposition. If you haven't been there, the best way to convince yourself is to go see for yourself. There have been huge works of different tactic to try to keep our sea at bay between the creeks. Lots of interesting history has been scoured away but at least it's been stable for the last quarter century. Maybe the community could begin to write a new history with these trail/bikeway suggestions and so recover a very interesting aspect of its past. I would expect it would have enormous interest outside our immediate area as well. It's certainly captured my imagination. If it will be done, then I'm sure there will be no shortage of appropriate suggestions for what a suitable name for this section would be. At this instant I rather like The New, Old Lakeshore Trail/Bikeway That Is, For The Road That Once Was. I also reckon this is the toughest one physically but it's really not that difficult. Beyond, to the west, the road is fraught with the perils of politics. But I think a sensible solution is available which I'll outline in the next several sections.

Now I return to the Lakeshore and Murphy corner. Attachment #3 provides the map. From this point it is approximately 2 km east to Modeland. The first 1.1 km east of Murphy now has sewers installed and has the road with the paved walkway and no curbs as I've described earlier. Add curbs on both sides, bring the asphalt over on the north side to meet the curb, put in an equivalent solid line on the asphalt 5' from the edge as is found on the south side and presto! We actually now have Toronto, Windsor and so, presumably, Ministry of Transport approved standard 1.5 metre wide designated bicycle lanes on each side of the road. Cars and bikes move smoothly, each with their own much, much safer space.

I'll add a technical design detail here that I'd like incorporated which would serve to help the local motoring public get used to bicycle lanes. The example on a much larger scale I've seen on the newly resurfaced I-94 towards Detroit. In that instance, as one drives on to the shoulder of the road, a driver encounters a warning feature that the edge of the paved shoulder is immediate. They've used a machine to make mini rumble strips as if a heavy tracked bulldozer had left its mark on soft pavement. Do the same thing here only make it a couple of inches wide and paint over this feature to emphasize the boundary between cars and bikes. This would not be too intrusive and it would serve as a reminder for vehicles that the bicycle space beside is reserved. As safety is paramount, I feel it's greatly enhanced this way.

The next .9 km section of road to Modeland has folks who've complained of transit and sewer services being paid for and not delivered. I find it inconsistent our Mayor would pronounce that he sees tremendous population growth imminent for the City and yet doesn't see it likely this area could reasonably expect services for decades. I say, do the sewer job and upgrade Lakeshore and the streets feeding it in the same way as in the earlier stretch, all at the same time so you're not expensively revisiting. Again you'll have a 24' wide road (instead of 22'), plus 5' of asphalt on each side for bike lanes, curbs and drywells and this section now passes muster - neat, tidy and safe. Now the road is consistent with all locations in the City where front yards face roads, compared with fenced off back yards that can be found elsewhere on major roads and front door access is on a parallel street. If available and willing to be hired to consult in this matter, perhaps Mr. Roger Letham can again come up with a creative and less expensive solution for sewer main routing. His redesign rescued the initial stretch of sewer installation which residents in that area too, had been paying for some 25 years or more before they finally arrived.

I do not know if the section between Modeland and Telfer, the lakefront and Blackwell Road is designated for future expansion of sewers and is presently being charged for anticipated service. If it remains undesignated, then it's the lonesome pocket on septic systems all along the lakefront to the Forest Town Line as someone else has pointed out. In any case, the surface of Lakeshore is getting long in the tooth and will soon have to be fixed up. Again, do it as before. A 24' road instead of 22', a 5' bike lane in each direction, curbs and drywells. There it is. The ~6 km stretch from Murphy to Telfer now has dedicated bike lanes and such can swing north at the Rainbow corner to meet up with a completed Old Lakeshore Bikeway/Trail I hope for.

Again I find myself at the Murphy and Lakeshore corner. The southeast part of this intersection needs to be reconstructed and the curb moved back 5' so the bike lane is seamless with those that are now found along Lakeshore to Christina to tie into the network in Canatara. These new bike lanes to the west of Murphy have made their appearance by the simple addition of paint.

Use more paint on Christina past Michigan along the golf course and beyond. Now there is a multitude of choices on how best to get down to our river waterfront. You come to Vidal Street where is best and next thing you know you've got the makings of a desired commuter bikeway. Through the Chemical Valley and beyond through our First Nations' land to the new St. Clair Trail! The Bike and Pedestrian path Committee's Report (our Report from now on in references) details other desirable routes and linkages through the city.

Now, before I hear voices expressing cries of alarm at the expense of what I've outlined, (or howls of laughter at someone trying to take on City Hall), do recall that the further reconstruction and upgrade of Lakeshore as I see it, is still not up to City Standards for road width. Even more important, at this point there is absolutely no provision for pedestrian accommodation east of Murphy with a separated sidewalk which standards call for. On both sides of this road. So what about the people on foot, roller blades or skateboards? You sensibly get them off the road. It's as basic as that.

Instead of sidewalks on both sides of the road, let's start with one. I've looked at this stretch and the south side seems much the easier. Such is the case all the way along to Telfer. Now we have a pedestrian "path" all along the way from Canatara Park using existing sidewalks along Lakeshore to tie into this proposed extension. This is a very common approach elsewhere for having continuity in networks and the only choice along Lakeshore.

There's plenty of room and could be accomplished with minimal disruption by gently curving around trees and flower beds, which should stay intact. At some point asphalt could replace the more durable concrete. I think you might want to use concrete up to Rutherglen or Mater Streets, say. Easy, purpose-built linkages to the Howard Watson Trail can be made at Modeland Road and Blackwell and Telfer Sideroads. Others can choose the quiet streets of Rutherglen or Mater or any before, or any sidewalk to reach the one on Cathcart. At the end of this sidewalk the Howard Watson Trail is accessible through the park with tennis courts and the opening in the fence. This nature trail, with its completely different character, beautifully complements the Lakeshore way.

I note here the Report proposes such a Lakeshore Trail in Appendix G as the most desired of West/East routes by a margin of over twice that to Cathcart, its nearest competitor of an along-the-road path. Clearly, the Lakeshore route is what the people of the City of Sarnia want. Find enclosed Attachments #4 & #5, sketches of my imaginings of the linkages from the Lakeshore path to the Howard Watson Trail at Modeland and Telfer. North to Rainbow is tricky for bikes and needs professional review.

Since the Report was released, I'll add here the complete text of a news story and chart published under the headline of "Vital Statistics" in The Globe and Mail of Sept 21/98 of a national survey on bicycling:

"A survey released yesterday suggests that a majority of Canadians would bike to work if they had a dedicated lane that would get them there in less than 30 minutes at a comfortable pace.

The survey, conducted by Environics International Ltd. for the non-profit group Go for Green, showed that there was also major support for the government to spend money on dedicated bike lanes and paths.

Whether they biked often or not, most of those surveyed also said they would like to cycle more. "Clearly Canadians want to do it, but they're finding barriers," said Stephen Grundy, Go for Green's national director.

Results from the telephone survey, involving interviews with 1,501 adults, [compared with our Report that used less than 600 adults] are considered accurate within plus or minus 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Percentage of respondents who…

…would use dedicated bike lanes:

*************************************************** 88%

=============================== 67%

…think government should spend on dedicated bike lanes:

************************************************* 84%

===================================== 79%

…would like to cycle more:

************************************************* 83%

============================ 60%

…think cycling is dangerous in their community:

***************************** 48%

=========================== 56%

**** Respondents who walk or cycle at least once a week

=== Respondents who don't walk or cycle at least once a week "

If this survey isn't a landslide approval at the national level of the desirability of accommodating bicycles, I don't know what is. Barriers exist and their removal can be a tortured process. But, when done, there is a sea change in the recreational character of the city.

Consider Appendix A in our Committee's Report. This is the Sarnia Recreation Master Plan Background Report issued April 1989. That's 10 years ago! As relates to this submission, I feel 2 partial quotes from Key Findings #3 and #6 are warranted:

#3. Government Restructuring

Any change in the structure of local government in the Sarnia region has major implications to the provision of recreational and leisure programming in Sarnia.

#4. Need for a Network of Bicycle and Pedestrian Paths

The number one parks and open space priority identified by Sarnia residents was the need for a network of bicycle and pedestrian trails.

In my neck of the woods, it is painfully obvious this all relates to the messiness of Lakeshore as a "County" road within City limits and the strangling choke hold such has over natural development of the road, as I'd like to see it.

Our Committee's Report has numerous references to cities that have moved forward on this front. Windsor, as "blue collar" as Sarnia and maybe even more so, identified trail development as a priority in 1989 and has acted vigourously. London inaugurated a bicycle plan in 1992. Our Report mentions Calgary, Kitchener and other locations where paths/trails/bikeways have been successfully implemented and enthusiastically received. I think it's time for Sarnia to join the congregation and make the investment that will yield an avalanche of benefits related to quality of life for all residents. With the planets of provincial election, local restructuring, a new Municipal Act and citizens' hissing all lining up, there is a unique local window of opportunity presenting itself auspiciously as the Millennium draws near. Federal money is there for the having for those nimble and quick. Might as well try to get our fill.

We want more of the first and the demographic shift is happening and being increasingly accommodated by Ross McEachran's initiatives and others planned. How to enhance the appeal of the area for both? There's plenty documented in our Report and elsewhere that is widely disseminated and much talked about.

I'll only add a couple of things here. In the matter of tourism, a call was received at a recent airing of the local Cable TV show "Spectrum", hosted by J. D. Booth. The caller asked one of his guests that evening, Karen Cathcart of Lambton College, of the importance of an integrated network of trails/paths/bikeways as a source of appeal. She said it was "absolutely vital" as I recall. Almost any city in Europe has a very developed network. There is great potential in visitors discovering and local residents rediscovering this area at a slow speed and in safety.

When I go across the river to The States and take M-25 north out of Port Huron I see the sign, "Great Lakes Circle Tour" on a map of Lake Huron. This road has paved shoulders along its length and curbs and sidewalks in every little burg you drive through. What's happened to the ones on our side? We have to get with the program again. Lure visitors to our magnificent waterfront and then direct them through the City for a leisurely drive along Lakeshore Road to where it intersects at Highway #21 at Kettle Point. As in Michigan, they actually cruise along the road that has the lakefront accessible. I vaguely recall this route called for a blast down the 402 until the #21 turnoff to Forest. The Oil Heritage District has enough appeal on its own that the route doesn't have to be hijacked this way, if that's the case.

Tourism enhanced is to have the signs along the way. If you've ever been on the road in France you know they've got this part down really well. As you'd expect from the premier tourist destination in the world. Indeed, the UK does very well in this regard too and my favourite is from there: "You are now entering an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty."

As Sarnia approaches the year 2000, the community stands at a number of crossroads that will shape the character of this city. My focus here has been a narrow recreational aspect of this really nice spot on the planet. It seems to have lost part of its way. For me it started with the absolute nonsense of how the rebuild of Lakeshore Road ended up with its numerous deficiencies. All the result of the structure our politicians have to work in. Everybody knows the road will have to be fixed up. Everybody knows it should have been done right the first time. And when it is brought up to even less than minimum standards that I think are most likely possible, I'd bet it would be thought of as one of the best investments ever in an improvement. I unknowingly thought this would be a given when the easiest opportunity was there.

There really isn't much new that I've typed that isn't buried in the reports I've referred to. I've repeated a newer survey that's relevant and encouraging to a revival of the initiative formally reported by the Sarnia Bike and Pedestrian Path Committee. I'm Maybe putting a trail/bikeway over the water hasn't been officially mentioned but I have no doubt such an approach has crossed other peoples' minds. If such were to be built to tie into designated bikelanes on Lakeshore I feel this would be truly magnificent and be enthusiastically received. That's been the case in any community where trails/paths/bikeways have been given a high priority. Only today, April 27/99, as I insert this last revision have I spoken to John O'Rae, current Chair of the Sarnia Bike and Pedestrian Path Committee. He has told me the Committee is active on a number of fronts and making headway trying to catch up to examples of success all around us. I'll remind our Mayor of his correspondence to me of Feb 10/95 where he wrote that the "idea of bicycle lanes is an excellent one from my own standpoint as a cyclist." The Mayor will find my application to serve on the current Bike and Pedestrian Path Committee enclosed. I would ask him to direct it to the City Clerk.

Motions by members of City Council will have to be introduced to have movement on some of the suggestions. I understand the immediate priority is necessary funding for the Sarnia Bike and Pedestrian Committee to hire expertise. Too bad this didn't happen in Jan '98 when the St. Clair River Trail made the offer of the same expertise for an encompassing regional economic impact study of trails in the area.

As is indicated on the cover page of this submission, the list of those receiving these words is larger than this City Council. Anybody who's mentioned by name in the text is mailed a copy as well. Others fall into the category of those who I think might be interested in these suggestions and might contribute in their own way to furthering the objectives I've lined out. If satisfactory in this form, the Planning Dept. can consider this early feedback on the new Draft Official Plan.

The most important recipients could be the nominated candidates for the riding of Sarnia-Lambton in the upcoming Provincial election. Their stands on the changes in law that will have to come from Queen's Park will be critical if a change of authority in the jurisdiction of Lakeshore Road actually does occur. I hope it can become an important local issue because of its broad implications in the future shape of this City. I trust it will be fully addressed by the candidates in their campaigns. If the local print media see fit to spare the ink and publish this scribbling, then all the better for the chances of positive change.

Yours sincerely,

George Sunaitis April 27, 1999

1247 Lakeshore Road

Sarnia, ON N7S 2L1

Phone 542 8340 Fax 542 5480 E-mail: directeur@midnightmint.com

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