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Rocky roads rub residents wrong way;

BY KEITH LACEY Citizens tell pollsters road maintenance should be city councilÂ?s top priorityÂ?96 per cent said so in the most recent Oracle survey.
BY KEITH LACEY

Citizens tell pollsters road maintenance should be city councilÂ?s top priorityÂ?96 per cent said so in the most recent Oracle survey. They rate it higher than policing and public health services, and say it is much more important than child care or leisure programs.

Yet Don Belisle, general manager of public works says the cityÂ?s roads are falling apart.

Unless council orders drastic action, the cityÂ?s roads budget is going to far exceed budgeted targets by $1 to $2 million, said Belisle.

And no matter how much work is done, our roads are still in very poor shape, he said.

Â?Public complaints are increasingÂ?the public is literally fed up,Â? he said.

After delaying the subject earlier this month, city councilÂ?s priorities committee will discuss roads maintenance and spending this week.

A proper annual budget of $25 million a year is needed to properly rebuild, surface and maintain roads across Greater City, said Belisle.

Until amalgamation in 2000, the city and seven outlying municipalities traditionally spent about $15 million on reconstruction and another $15 million on maintenance, said Belisle.

Post-amalgamation, reconstruction budgets have been reduced to $9 million and maintenance budgets increased to $20 million annually, said Belisle.

That amounts to 16 per cent of the cityÂ?s 2003 budget. But itÂ?s not enough money.

Â?We remain grossly, grossly underfunded in road construction and road resurfacing,Â? Belisle said.

As general manager, heÂ?s come up with three options Â?none of which are palatable.Â? They include using a one-time $1.8 million capital reserve fund, which he canÂ?t endorse.

Another option is to cut back on all non-safety road maintenance, which is the only option that makes any sense, said Belisle.

The third option is to continue the existing maintenance program until the end of the year and go over budget and hope there are savings elsewhere in the city budget, which is unrealistic, he said.



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