Roads superintendent Larry Van Wyck is looking for some clarification on who is responsible for work on rights of way.
In his report to council on June 26, he recommended the town ask Wellington County to review the existing agreements and documentation regarding responsibility for the county right-of-ways in urban areas.
Van Wyck said the county believes it already has one in place for urban municipalities.
That policy states that the lower tier municipality is responsible for everything behind the curb – trees, stumps, signs, intersections and visibility.
Van Wyck said discussions need to be initiated to clarifiy the responsibilities and develop clear concise agreements which clearly document each party’s responsibilities and that a copy be sent to all Wellington County municipalities.
He said during the past several years, issues have arisen with utilities requesting permission to undertake work on the right of way of a county road in an urban area.
As a result, approvals have been required from both authorities.
“I believe there is a problem with this approach.”
He said a lot of utilities are aware of this two-tier system.”
Van Wyck added that “This process has proven confusing, cumbersome and occasionally results in one or the other of the authorities not being consulted which creates issues when dealing with restoration work on sidewalks and boulevards which is not satisfactory.”
He said another question is the painting of parking lines in downtown areas.
Trees on county rights of way is another issue. He said the town is currently responsible for them, although the reason is not clear.
He said problems may arise because the town does not regularly patrol these roads to locate problem trees, while the county does so regularly to satisfy other legislative requirements.
Van Wyck suggested there would be increased liability to the town if it becomes responsible for visibility at the intersection of county roads and local streets.
He is also concerned with policies which would make the town responsible for all signs in urban areas.
“It is only a matter of time before an issue arises,” he said.
“I don’t have a magic wand to correct this, but the right of way needs to be under the control of [either the county or the municipality – not both.]”
Van Wyck said it becomes even more apparent when there are services under the road.
He said the authority should remain with the level of government which has the services in the road – to maintain those services.
In recent Erin history a large tree fell on the main street – a county road. Even though the town recovered the costs, he questioned why the town would be responsible for a tree on the county right-of-way.
Councillor Barb Tocher agreed that Van Wyck had a point.
She said since the town did not regularly patrol the county roads, the municipality would not be aware of problem trees. Tocher suggested that Van Wyck bring the recommendation and report back to the regular council meeting on July 17 for consideration.
“You make some good points,” she added.
Van Wyck said the same should hold true for special events.
“They need to be able to deal with one authority or the other – not both,” he said.
