Inside This Issue
RIDE FOR LOCAL VETERANS A preview of a unique fundraising event making its way through Smiths Falls this month.
READ MORE PAGE #5
lifestyle
Skateboard JAM in Smiths Falls pg. 10
Council at standstill over future of bridge BY AMY HOGUE
Confederation Bridge was the topic of lengthy discussion at yet another Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting on Monday, July 27, as council debated whether or not to remove the decking before winter, and possibly preserve the pedestrian walkway. Councillors Jay Brennan and Chris Cummings were in agreement to wait to make any decisions until a Traffic Impact Study has been received by council. “Until I see a traffic study I don’t see how we can decide tonight,” Brennan said at the outset of the meeting. Confederation Bridge
was closed May 29 due to safety concerns after an inspection by engineering firm Greer Galloway Group revealed significant corrosion of the structure. At the outset council was in agreement to defer a decision on the bridge until funds were available to either repair or replace the structure, but that was changed at a June 15 meeting, when Greer Galloway representative, Scott Poole, told council that if the decking were left on the bridge, snow accumulation through the winter could exceed the maximum weight re c om m e n d at i on . In the July 27 report to council, Poole said if
left intact through the winter, snow removal would have to be performed by hand, with a maximum of four people on the bridge at any one time, and that snow accumulation shouldn’t exceed 0.3 metres, or about one foot. The report recommended a traffic impact study be completed, saying one was previously completed for Confederation Bridge in March 2012. The information from that study could be used in conjunction with a new traffic assessment to give council a more complete overview of traffic impacts from the bridge closure. “I’m not going to
make any decisions about the bridge without the traffic study,” Councillor Chris Cummings said, “This decision has to be based on science and not emotion.” One of the options brought forward again in the report was to remove the deck of the current bridge, which the report stated “could have the potential benefit of increasing the pedestrian capacity of the walkway while reducing winter maintenance.” The report noted this option would require further analysis and possibly repairs in the neighbourhood of $70,000. Councillor Joe Gallipeau pointed out wheth-
er or not the decking is removed now or later won’t change the cost or the need for the removal, but pointed out that if it’s done now it could open up the pedestrian walkway for foot traffic in the meantime. Mayor Shawn Pankow agreed with Gallipeau, saying the decking needs to be removed either way, whether the bridge is repaired, replaced, or left in place over the winter. able fix to remove the asphalt and decking ASAP and then re-evaluate,” Pankow said, “We can determine what the long term future is later.” Story continued on pg. 6.
Allison Graham shares her unexpected trip of a lifetime with her father.
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culture A preview of the Festival of Small Halls this month featuring the East Pointers.
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community A local medicinal marijuanna clinic hopes to eliminate stigma surrounding the drug.
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