The Town of Gibsons is going to repave two roads that were resurfaced last year using chip seal, a technique that involves a mix of gravel and bitumen.
A combination of bad weather during the resurfacing and other issues has led to problems with potholes, loose gravel, dust and tar on roads such as Mountainview Drive, Seacot Way, Tricklebrook, Martin and Hillcrest. The Town has had a steady stream of complaints from residents, and even a petition.
Another round of email prompted Coun. Silas White to meet with residents and get a first-hand look at the situation last weekend. White put forward a motion at the May 2 committee of the whole meeting to have the Town rehabilitate Mountainview and Seacot with asphalt. It passed through committee in the afternoon, and was brought to council for ratification that night, where it was adopted unanimously.
“We’re all very concerned about the situation,” White told council. “I arranged to visit and within half an hour I was welcomed by over 40 people in the driveway. It just shows how concerned this neighbourhood is... Clearly the road’s not getting any better, and it seems to be getting worse day by day.”
The decision to start with just the two roads didn’t seem to satisfy all of the 40 or so Creekside residents in the audience, and some shouted out “Unacceptable!” and “What about Tricklebrook and Hillcrest?” and “You’ve got enough for bike lanes!”
Mayor Wayne Rowe pointed out that it’s going to take some juggling just to get the money to redo the two roads. “There’s not going to be the funds at this point in time to do other areas that are in the chip seal,” he said.
During the inquiries period later in the meeting, Rowe went on to explain the difficulty the Town faces in coming up with the money for infrastructure maintenance, given that a one per cent tax increase only nets about $25,000.
“You should start setting aside money to replace [infrastructure] in 50 years [from installation]. That was not done 50 years ago [in Gibsons].” He said a key priority for the council now is starting to build up those reserves for future work. They’re getting close for water and sewer, but roads will take a lot longer.
Rowe called chip sealing a “well-intentioned idea that just didn’t work.”
Coun. Stafford Lumley told the residents in the council chamber, “You can put the blame on somebody like me, because we’re trying to be fiscally responsible with a really small town budget. It was definitely the idea that instead of paving one road we could actually improve five roads. I know it hasn’t worked out as people would have liked it to, and I apologize, because I voted for it. But rest assured everyone on council and everyone on staff wants to fix it as soon as possible.”
After the meeting, Bruce McClymont, one of the residents who met with White, said, “I like the direction [council is taking], I’ll be satisfied when I have new blacktop in front of my house… I had an asphalt road when I bought my house and I expect to have an asphalt road in front of it when I sell it.”
