Passionate opposition from residents of Abbott Boulevard in 2017 and residents of Northwood Drive in 2018 to having sidewalks added to their roads underlined the need for objective analysis.
The result is the Sidewalk Priority Plan presented this week at council's committee-of-the-whole meeting.
A staff report from director of public works Laurie Wills said the goal is to determine a logical order to construct new sidewalks each year, and Wills set out criteria for a point system to make the determination.
Councillor Emily Chorley seized on the final paragraph of the policy: “The next steps will be for the town to develop an official policy for the implementation of new sidewalks in the Town of Cobourg, based on the subject Sidewalk Priority Plan.”
“I think we would be missing something if we didn't clarify how this plan is going to be used,” Chorley said, outlining the need for an official policy to be formulated with an active public-engagement component.
Mayor John Henderson noted that the policy already in place in the case of a new sidewalk calls for proper notification of affected residents well in advance. In previous cases, this has proven to be adequate for involving those members of the public to provide ample input.
And, Councillor Brian Darling wondered, “how does the need for public engagement stack up against the need for public safety?”
Having sat through presentations by Abbott and Northwood residents worried about the potential for lost parking spaces and the newly acquired duty to keep sidewalks clear, Darling is familiar with their concerns.
But he also challenged them to walk their children to school and imagine their having no sidewalks to use.
“We are now a modern urban community and, for the safety of everyone, we need them,” Darling stated.
The new policy has been three years in the making, he pointed out, and there have been changes as a result.
“Right now, Northwood's going to be happy – they got moved down the list. Abbott was proposed three years ago, then cancelled, then we developed the priority plan. Now it's first on the list.
“And we still are getting people who don't want it.”
Council voted down Chorley's amendment to develop an official policy with active public engagement, but then voted to approve the Sidewalk Priority Plan as presented.