Matthew Street to be one-way in summer, two-way the rest of the year

For a street that isn’t as long as the average NFL punt, Matthew Street in Sharbot Lake is sure stirring up quite the fuss.

For those who haven’t been paying attention, Matthew Street runs from Elizabeth Street, essentially right at the Cardinal Café, to Oso Beach. Other than Canada Day, summer Saturday mornings (when the market is on) or the odd concert/special event, there’s rarely any traffic on it, even though Central Frontenac Public Works Manager Tyson Myers claimed at the special meeting Sept. 20 every time he turns down the street he sees a mother going down to beach after getting a coffee from the Cardinal.

But for such an inobtrusive thoroughfare, it has certainly been the subject of much consternation of late.

The street was due for some repaving as part of the Sharbot Lake downtown revitalization project including some much-needed upgrades to the storm sewer that runs along it underground. Tearing up the asphalt to make said repairs necessitated repaving.

But that’s not the point of contention.

Somewhere along the line, someone convinced Tyson that making it a one-way street (down or from Elizabeth to the beach) would be a good idea, an idea that was backed up by a consulting firm (GHD) in Ottawa brought in after the fuss began.

Even so, there was still about 200 people (the approximate number of those who signed a petition against the one-way designation) who continued to oppose the concept.

So, on Sept. 20, there was a special meeting of Central Frontenac Council to re-examine the project.

The Matthew Street part of the meeting began with Mayor Frances Smith laying down the law to the rather large gallery in Oso Hall.

“When you come into our Council Chambers, there are certain rules that need to be followed,” Smith said. “Clapping, speaking out, swearing, being obstructive of the discussions is not allowed.

“It was allowed last time . . . it won’t be allowed this time.”

The crowd was well-behaved.

Residents Rhonda Kimberley Young and Bob Young expressed their concerns both with the (lack of) consultation process and the inconvenience not being able to use Matthew Street for their snowmobiles.

“I don’t think it’s fair to frame this as ‘you’re either in favour of a one-way street or you don’t care about pedestrian safety,” Rhonda said. “This seems to us as a solution in search of a problem.”

However, it seems the Mayor had a solution of her own coming into the meeting.

“Yes, we’ve made mistakes on this one,” Smith said. “We’ve learned a lot about public consultation.”

That’s when Smith dropped her own bombshell on the proceedings, suggesting a new plan to make the street one-way for three months in the summer (June, July, August) and two-way for the remaining nine months.

Myers said he did believe he could make that work but it would be at the cost of a pedestrian walkway across Elizabeth Street but “I will not be able to change pedestrian flow with signage and line painting.”

Coun. Brent Cameron asked for more public consultation in 2023 after a trial period.

The motion passed and beginning in the summer of 2023, Matthew Street will be one-way for three months of the year.

Communal Services

Council also heard a presentation from county planners and FoTenn and Pinchin concerning an engineering feasibility study for communal services. The presentation also concluded that any such project should be eligible to receive funding from the Green Municipal Fund.

Planner Sonja Bolton said the Sept. 20 presentation was not about presenting a project, only is it feasible for communal services.

The plan would involve taking water from Sharbot Lake, (in all likelihood from the East Basin due to the West Basin being ‘at capacity’), using it for all the things residences use water for, cleaning and treating it and then returning it to Sharbot Lake.

The study primarily referenced the former Sharbot Lake Public School property, suggesting what would be needed to service a three-storey, 45 (two-bedroom) unit building.

It also looked at a second three-storey, 50 unit building where the pickleball courts are now and speculated that a system could be installed that would also provide water and waste treatment to several municipal buildings including Soldiers Memorial Hall and the Township offices.

Coun. Bill MacDonald expressed concern about putting water back into Sharbot Lake and asked if there were operations of this type in use anywhere else.

Planner Joe Gallivan said that the water returned to the lake would be as pure or purer than what was taken out and said that Frontenac Shores on Lake Mississagagon uses a similar (albeit smaller) system.

He said that Almont has a 24-unit system and Wainfleet Township has a system servicing 34 townhouses.

He said that any water being returned to the lake would be subject to a discharge certificate covering various parameters, including temperature.