Fix The Roads

While most City of Ottawa taxpayers will probably be happy with Mayor Jim Watson’s approach in keeping tax increases low, it has come at the expense of having the worst roads among 15 cities. Although the Orleans area may not be any worse than other areas, regular users of St. Joseph Blvd. have become accustomed to dodging potholes and wobbly drainage covers. Sidewalks are just as bad. Centrum Blvd. was built approximately 30+ years ago and in spite of a fairly heavy level of traffic and pedestrian activity it remains as is, plagued by shoddy sidewalks, rusting and twisted gates that once were a welcome feature to the Orleans Town Center to outdated street lights that are constantly being repaired due to corroded underground wiring. Even though some of these issues go beyond road repair, it speaks to the lack of attention given to general improvements. Keeping taxes low by deferring repairs inevitably creates a greater expense at some point. These types of problems are not unique to Orleans. If the roads situation can be addressed with a .5 per cent tax increase why isn’t the city moving forward now, or is Watson waiting until he is no longer interested in re-election?