Schomberg resident fed up with ‘significant’ dust from gravel road

Yorkregion.com
April 28, 2022

With the amount of land in King township, there are several roads that remain unpaved.

Jeff Pabst and his family have been living on 19th Sideroad in Schomberg for about 14 years.

“It seems to have progressively gotten worse, particularly the last six has been the worst,” he said.

The potholes and dust on the unpaved roadway have caused issues for the family.

“It’s a combination of things. The worst part is the amount of gravel they keep covering on it,” he said. “The flying gravel, you need essentially a hockey helmet to cover your eyes near the road if a car goes by.”

Pabst said it can be difficult to breath with all the dust in the air from the gravel.

“On dusty days it triggers my asthma,” he said.

Another issue with the gravel road is potholes, which Pabst said is secondary to the dust and gravel.

“Certain times in spring it can be so muddy sometimes you wonder if you can get through it without four-wheel drive. It’s significant at times,” he said.

Pabst is wondering when the township intends to pave 19th Sideroad.

“Some people have concern about people speeding. People speed whether it’s paved or not,” Pabst said.

King Township is in the second year of its 10-year paving strategy, and is ahead of schedule because of competitive prices in 2021 for gravel conversion to pavement. It has completed the conversion of paved surfaces planned for years one, two and most of year three, Samantha Fraser, director of public works, said in an email.

Over the last three years, the township has paved and repaired more roadways than ever before as it is a “significant priority” for staff and council, she said.

The township does a road needs assessment every two years where the condition is reassessed to find out if the priority for paving should be changed based on a variety of data, Fraser said.

“This assessment is currently underway and will include the 19th Sideroad among all other township roads,” Fraser said.

In the meantime, Fraser said maintaining King’s gravel roads is a cost-effective alternative to paving all the roads.

“To ensure roads are safe for travel, King continues a regular maintenance program while making progress each year on King’s capital investment in gravel road conversions,” she said.

Township staff patrol the roads and inspect them a minimum of three times a week, adhere to the provincial minimum maintenance standard and periodic grading. Maintenance is either done as a result of patrols or residents contacting the township.

Fraser said King does both gravelling and dust suppressant to maintain gravel roads. Gravel roads are topped up every year and the contact started in early June and runs for one month. The roads are completed on a rotating basis every second year.

“This helps restore any granular material that is lost throughout the year and addresses any soft spots, potholes or washouts that may be caused by weather,” she said.

To help stop dust, township staff place calcium on gravel roads, which takes place from June to July.

More information on King’s paving strategy can be found on the township’s website at king.ca.