Streets like Island Road need rebuild, but no funds available: public works

Alec Allison remembers the day he and his wife Marie moved into their Island Road home in 1985.

“We had a committee of three come to the door to say, almost aggressively, ‘You guys don’t want sidewalks, do you?’”

The narrow south Oak Bay street, ambling from Windsor Park up past Anderson Hill Park, still doesn’t have sidewalks. As such, it retains the feel of a country lane more than a city road.

Allison prefers it that way and isn’t too concerned that Oak Bay’s public works department doesn’t have enough money to re-build it.

“I hope they don’t come around here trying to repair stuff. As long as there’s potholes people will slow down. They sure don’t pay attention to the signs,” he said.

A line in the municipality’s 2008 annual report, released last week, states the municipality’s roads “cannot be adequately maintained within existing operating budgets.”

Oak Bay public works supervisor Phil Barnett says even if his $332,800 budget for roads maintenance increased by 25 per cent, he still couldn’t completely fix up the streets. Although Cedar Hill X Road and Beach Drive are getting upgrades this year, he’d like to do something with Newton, Carnarvon, Townley, and Dalhousie streets, Cavendish Avenue, and of course, Island Road.

Oak Bay Coun. Pam Copley said some roads are the way they are because that’s how the residents want it.

“They value the country lane atmosphere,” she said. “They say that as soon as a road is resurfaced and sidewalks upgraded, you get more traffic.”

Not all Island Road residents think their street should be left alone.

John Chomyn grew up in Northern Saskatchewan but has lived on the street for 10 years. He would be happy to see the road rebuilt, he said.

“I came to live in the city. I was born in the country – been here and done that – and I pay taxes that are supposed to be used to be to repair roads.”

Chomyn recalled once being stopped by an Oak Bay police patrol car that he was following while driving home on Island Road. “The police were alarmed cause they thought I flashed my lights at them. They said ‘What’s your problem and I said ‘None, I just went in a pothole and my lights went up and down.’”

Neighbour Vi Berrisford doesn’t want to see sidewalks on the winding road, but would like to see potholes filled in.

“It’s a wonder people haven’t broken an axle,” said the 49-year Island Road resident.

Barnett said a lot goes into rebuilding a road. Depending on the base, a road has to be excavated two-thirds of a metre, filled in with gravel and repacked. And Oak Bay’s aging sewer system throws a kink into the process.

“In a lot of cases it’s not just the road. It’s the other things underneath that you would be foolish to pave over, because you could very well have to come back and dig (it) up in the near future.”

While roads in Oak Bay in general are not in great shape, he added, it could be worse.

“There are lots (of roads) that need to be resurfaced, yes, but it’s not to the point where people are falling in holes – it’s not damaging vehicles.”

vmoreau@saanichnews.com