in Chatsworth, Grey Highlands, Southgate, West Grey
June 16, 2023
LETTER TO THE EDITOR — My name is Gary Ikona. I am the owner of Artemesia Cheese and Fine Food in Flesherton. I'm writing to shed light on a municipal project that will disrupt and possibly ruin several businesses in Flesherton. The town is thriving right now . Myself and The Eco Refillery have expanded our stores and the Bakery is doing brisk business. We have two hair salons opening and a new restaurant. We were ready for a busy summer. After all these expenditures and hard work, we find out the Municipality plans to tear up and refinish highway 10, which is the main thoroughfare in town this summer. The businesses in Flesherton rely on the summer tourist traffic for most of our yearly sales.
Without holding a public consultation meeting, Grey Highlands Council awarded a three-million-dollar contract to reconstruct Highway 10 in Flesherton to Harold Sutherland Construction on June 7th, 2023.
Representatives of local businesses and the community asked Council to stall construction until the fall, after the peak of the tourism season. Now, construction could begin as early as July 3rd.
The project entails the closure of Highway 10, the main traffic artery in the area, for significant underground work, road upgrades and improvements.
Downtown Flesherton business owner Carol Wood said, “Everyone is just recovering from COVID. We just need a summer. It would be bad timing, to lose our summer trade.”
Not only will the road closure damage small businesses in Flesherton and Markdale, it will hurt Chapman’s, the municipality’s main taxpayer.
“We were not given any time to prepare for such a large hit. Our large trucks cannot take side roads within the area, so they will have to go through the Durham or Mount Forest areas, or across to Collingwood and then south, which is a massive detour for our trucks,” said Ashley Chapman, COO of Chapman’s. ”The majority of our products are sold within summer months. This will have massive impact and potentially cost us millions.”
While summer is construction season, most municipalities do their best to avoid major downtown closures then. Road closures interfere with the tourist flow that stimulates the fragile local economy of rural areas.
Chris Cornfield, Grey Highlands Director of Transportation and Public Spaces, said, “The plan is to ensure there will only ever be one lane closed during construction. And each evening, both lanes will be open.”
This does not ease the concerns of the community. Closing Highway 10 in Flesherton in July will cripple our local businesses during their busiest months. Construction that begins in late August will hurt, but not do quite as much damage as road closures during the months of high summer.
“This is a poorly planned project without consideration for the effects on the local economy,” said Ashley Chapman. “There is no reason why the project couldn’t have been delayed by a 6-8 weeks.”
The local community is still waiting for Council to set a public information meeting on this issue. Has the opportunity for public consultation passed?
I thought you should hear about this issue from the perspective of those that will be affected most by this decision.
Gary Ikona
Artemesia Cheese and Fine Food
Flesherton
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