Mississauga residents want to know why ‘perfectly good’ sidewalks are being torn up
Published August 22, 2022 at 4:55 pm
A number of residents in southwest Mississauga want to know why some “perfectly good” sidewalks are being torn up and replaced by the City.
Ward 2 Councillor Pat Mullin said at a recent City of Mississauga council meeting that residents have contacted her wanting to know more about specific sidewalk rehabilitation projects and, more generally, how the City gets information to residents about the work.
“There has been a number of emails sent to me regarding the concern as to how the sidewalks are being done, (and) the rationale as to why sidewalks that look perfectly good are being torn up,” Mullin said, directing her comments to City transportation and works staff.
The councillor said she did a recent walkabout with a City staffer, visiting some areas where sidewalk construction was ongoing.
And the residents have a good point, she noted, specifically when it comes to work on sidewalks that “clearly” don’t appear to need any work done.
“How much do we notify residents when we’re doing a whole area? And again, how do we explain the rationale…not only talking about sidewalks that look fairly good, but we’re also talking a whole rehabilitation of sod and whole strips of sod being removed as well,” Mullin said. “I know with road improvement (work), people get notices…(but) what actually do we do in terms of sidewalk rehabilitation to educate residents as to why we’re doing what we’re doing? Because the concern is, are we doing things that are really not necessary? Are we really prioritizing, or do we do nothing in terms of sending out any kind of notice in an area when quite a bit of work is being done?”
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City staff responded that the work being done is “driven by the municipal maintenance standards and there could be lots of reasons for the sidewalk to be replaced. Tree roots lift (the sidewalk), so sometimes you grind it…sometimes the height difference is such that you have to replace segments of it. People get notified the work is being done, but I’m not sure that we explain to the level of detail of why this (particular) segment is being done…”
Staff added they’ll look into Mullin’s requests and report back.
Mullin noted that residents aren’t looking for great detail, as that can be “very technical and hard to plow through.”
“I’m just wondering what we can do to better educate, better get them to understand in a less technical manner because clearly some of these sidewalks I would also say they don’t need to be done,” the councillor continued.
“So, for the future, in terms of…education when we put out these kinds of things, how we can better explain to the residents is important because I think their questions are valid.”