I’ve been thinking about our County Road 49, its condition, and its future.

On my regular trip to Picton to “shop local,” I noted more and deeper potholes scattered up the road. My car bottomed out hitting the road on its way into a hole. After Christmas I thankfully saw a County truck, loaded with asphalt and a shovel, signs of County staff once again doing our expensive but needed patching. How much does this cost the County every year? $182,00 annually, according to a County press release last May. That’s not counting the $2 million to fix culverts. That is a lot of money for a small County.

The next time I thought about County Road 49 occurred when I checked the Ontario511 website to see if any of the highways around us were blocked. The interesting map shows our problem very graphically. The Province has major roads forming a circle around and through the County, made up of the 401; Hwy 33 (the Loyalist Parkway) and Hwy 49, running from the 401 to the County boundary.
Then there is a blank on the map between the County Boundary and the Loyalist Parkway. The blank indicates the section of Hwy 49 which was abandoned by the Conservative Provincial Government in 1998.

Maintenance costs were handed down to our small municipality, which, predictably, was not in a position to maintain a road with Provincial highway status. Tyendinaga Territory’s section of 49 remains in
Provincial hands – no holes; no patching and a decent road.

Is there hope? The Ontario government has decided to do the right thing in Toronto: Premier Doug Ford and Mayor Olivia Chow have announced that the Gardiner Expressway and the Don Valley Parkway
will be taken over by the Province. Ontario will “ensure the long-term protection, preservation and enhancement of these vital assets from the risk of disrepair.”

The Province will pay operating and capital support in 2024 while they work out the details with Toronto. In an interview, Mayor Chow said this was important as it will free up money for other municipal programmes.

It makes sense for the Gardiner Expressway and the Don Valley Parkway to be Provincial roads for many reasons. We have similar reasons here: our downloaded section of Hwy 49 was
orphaned by the Province, leading to the current near total lack of maintenance. This road, a valuable asset, is dying a slow death. Thousands use it in the summer to get to the Province’s Sandbanks Provincial Park. Businesses like the cement plant and Picton Terminals put large and heavily loaded trucks on the road.

Ideally our section of Hwy 49 should be a four-lane road to accommodate passing lanes, making more room for the commercial and industrial vehicles. To keep everybody safe and because its 2024, why not add a bike lane? It’s time for our Council, our Mayor, and Bay of Quinte MPP Todd Smith take up the challenge: upload County Road 49 — formerly Hwy 49 — back to the Province.

Irene Harris
Sophiasburgh