Farmers in West Kent are concerned with the 2013 list of 29 bridges to close that will cause them to go kilometres out of their way to reach their fields.
West Kent Coun. Bryon Fluker brought a motion to council recently asking them to look at the approved list of divested bridges and see if “reprioritization is necessary.”
Representatives of the farming community spoke to the motion, asking council when they were going to make infrastructure needs, such as bridges, a priority.
Harry Lawson of the Kent Federation of Agriculture said he was there representing a substantial majority of farmers in Chatham-Kent.
“Transportation networks are a necessity of modern agriculture,” Lawson said. “Council needs to give rural traffic more priority than simple clicks of a traffic counter.”
Louis Roesch, a director of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture for Chatham-Kent and Essex, said a number of farm operations are moving equipment up to 10 kilometres out of their way to get to their fields.
One farmer near Tilbury actually has to use a 401 on-ramp for a quarter mile to get to his field. With slow-moving farm equipment, this can be a safety issue.
Roesch said the OFA recently toured Chatham-Kent in August, and were impressed with the people, the drainage, the relationship with council and the support from business for agriculture, and he would like to keep it that way.
“We are envied by many and we must keep it that way,” Roesch explained to council. “Infrastructure is key to business and we need to invest in it.”
Thomas Kelly, general manager of infrastructure and engineering, said that in 2013, staff very thoroughly went over the bridges that were placed on the list, reminding council that the issue is a financial one and that if any were removed, others would need to be added unless council puts more money into the budget for bridges.
Fluker’s motion passed, and Kelly said the second phase of municipality’s asset management plan should be ready for council by the end of the year.
I would love to see this list where can I find it.