THUNDER BAY -- What started as a gravel road through farmland has turned into a bus route to a school and the main entrance into a subdivision.
But Woodcrest Road between John Street Road and Hutton Park Drive still doesn't have a sidewalk. While a local improvement project could give the residents two sidewalks, curbs, gutters and bike lanes, they would have to pay around $675 per metre of frontage for the project.
On Monday, residents filled the gallery at city council saying the city should pay for work, or at least just a sidewalk, as it allowed the subdivision, bus route and school to develop.
It's now an issue of public, not just neighourhood safety.
Some of the work was requested through a local improvement petition, now expired, from 1995.
Many residents say they weren't there when the petition was signed. Eleanor Watts, who was, said she'd never signed the petition.
A senior and widow living on a fixed income, Watts said because of her frontage she'd have to pay around $56,000 over 20 years for the project.
"I think the city is just out of hand," she said.
Father of three Mario Colistro said he's been living in the area for more than 20 years. With buses and traffic, he's afraid to walk his children to nearby Woodcrest School.
"I was told to walk on the shoulder," he said.
"There is no shoulder."
City council will get a report back in August with options on the scope of the project and how it could be paid for. They'll also get a report back in May on options for a sidewalk or mutli-use trail in the interim.
