Paradise picks its 2021 road priority list

By Mark Squibb | Feb. 25, 2021

The Town of Paradise has approved it’s 2021 Street Rehab list.

“Roads were evaluated based on the severity of defects, the density of defects, and the overall ride comfort rating of the road,” explained Deborah Quilty during the February 16 public meeting of council.

Quilty said road assessments were carried out in the fall of 2020, and that streets were graded based on a scale of zero to 100. Roads which scored less than 50 and were not included in the Water and Sewer Priority List, were considered for the 2021 Street Rehab list.

Streets on the list are Irving Drive, Newcastle Place, Janal’s Road, Harcourt Road (Topsail Road to Gosse’s Road), Vanellen Place, Woodville Road, Husseys Road.

Quilty said the Infrastructure and Engineering department has been in close collaboration with Public Works to ensure there is no duplication of work, and to identify roads which fall under Public Works’ budget line and are better suited for a contractor to complete.

The total budget, excluding additional items from Public Works and the Water and Sewer list is $900,000.

Councillor Patrick Martin asked how many more streets might need to be done, acknowledging that staff might not have the information on hand.

CAO Lisa Niblock said that, as Martin had indicated, she did not have the exact number on hand, but that information is readily available. She added if there is money left over following the approved work, the town would simply continue on, starting with the next street on the list.

Deputy Mayor Elizabeth Laurie asked if the list, as presented, was in the order in which work would be completed. Niblock said that she believed it was, but would confirm it at a later time.

Mayor Dan Bobbett pointed out that funds for street rehabilitation have doubled since last year, when council had only budgeted a little over $400,000. Bobbett said the decision to increase funding had been unanimous among councillors.

Councillor Kimberly Street applauded the increase in funds, given the high demand for work.

“There’s many roads in need of repair, and this increase, I believe, will be well received by residents,” said Street.

Councillor Alan English echoed those sentiments.

Meanwhile, Deputy Mayor Laurie addressed folks who live on streets in need of repair that were not on the list.

“There is also a budget within our Public Works department that we are able to do some repairs in house,” said Laurie. “So, even though you don’t see your street’s name on this list for big contractors to go out and do major repairs, there will be some repairs over the season that are done in-house, so there will be some other streets addressed as well, besides these.”

Councillor English, however, cautioned against depending too much on the Public Works budget.

“I just wanted to make a comment on the budget in Public Works; I wouldn’t get our hopes up too high on that because there’s a relatively modest amount of money invovled,” he said. “I think it’s around $100,000, and as Deputy Mayor Laurie said that would be used to address issues as they arise, and some have already been brought to the forefront. But, it’s not a big amount of money.”