Central Frontenac Defers Arden Road Speed Limit Decision
A staff report that recommended against changing the speed limit on the Arden Road from the border with Stone Mills Township and Cox Road, just south of the hamlet, was deferred by Council, after a lengthy debate.
The road currently has an 80km/hr speed limit, and Deputy Mayor Cindy Kelsey had proposed earlier this summer that Staff review her proposal to lower the speed limit to 60km on that stretch, and raise it from the 40km to 50km/hr on the stretch in the built-up area between Cox Road and Price Road, just south of Hwy. 7.
After crossing Hwy. 7 headed north, the road becomes the Henderson Road, which has a speed limit of 60km/hr.
Staff used an automated traffic recorder to look at both traffic counts and speeds travelled on the stretch, and found that traffic is relatively light, 130 vehicles per day, and that the average speed traveled on the road is about 60km/hr even though the speed limit is 80km/hr.
“Based on the traffic study results, there is no clear operational need to reduce the existing 80 km/hr posted speed limit to 60 km/hr. The data indicates that the majority of motorists are already travelling at speeds substantially below the existing posted limit,” said the report.
The report also says that speed limits are just that, limits, and not recommended travel speeds.
Public Works Manager Steve Gould added that the location of highest concern on the road is the section near Cranberry Lake Road, and he is looking at doing some extra roadside clearing to improve visibility at that location, as well as erecting warning signs for the benefit of motorists.
Based on the Highway Traffic Act, in order for a change in speed limit to be enforceable, the section in question would require 62 new speed limit signs to be installed, at an estimated cost of $15,000 including labour, which was noted in the staff report.
Cindy Kelsey, who represents Kennebec Ward where Arden Road is located, along with the other Kennebec Councillor Lynn Klages, did not support the staff report. She pointed out that the speed limit is 60km/hr in the Stone Mills section of the road.
“It makes no sense for the road to be 60km/hr in Stone Mills, then 80 all the way to Arden, then 40 until Price Road, then 80km to Highway 7, then 60 on the Henderson Road,” Deputy Mayor Kelsey said.
Kelsey said that the township could put up less signs in order to save some of the $15,000 estimated cost.
Councillor Nicki Gowdy said that she thinks the speed bylaw for the entire township needs to be reviewed, and proposed a deferral.
Because of the Highway Traffic Act signage rules, Council passed a bylaw reverting all gravel roads in the township to 80km/hr, even though most of them have 40km/hr signs in place, but are spaced too far apart to be enforceable.
“I think as part of the review, we should refer this matter to the Police Services Board for comment,” Gowdy said.
Council went along with the deferral, but not before Steve Gould, in answer to a question from Councillor Klages, said that the deferral will not stop his department from taking the measures proposed for the Cranberry Road intersection, which he hopes to complete this fall.
Building Permit Bump
With the new Chief Building Inspector, Don Reed, now fully in place after winding down work in North Frontenac, where he was employed before taking the job in Central Frontenac, a backlog in processing building permits is easing.
The backlog had skewed the monthly and year-to-date construction activity reports up until now, and it shows in the August report, which saw permits for over $2 million in construction issued, pushing the year-to-date number above that of last year. So far this year, permits for $8 million in construction have been issued, up from $7.3 million in 2025. Still, activity is well down from the level at this time in 2024, when permits for $13.7 million in construction had been issued.
In terms of new housing starts, 2026 is down from the last two years. There have been 18 so far this year, and there were 23 in the first three quarters, in both 2025 and 2024.
Building activity has been concentrated in wards 1 and 4 so far this year, with Ward 1 alone accounting for 40% of the total. Fifty permits have been issued in Ward 1 (Kennebec), 37 have been issued in Ward 4 (Hinchinbrooke), 21 in Ward 3 (Oso), and 15 in Ward 2 (Olden).
Wilkinson Road Waste Site Transfer Station
Noting that Central Frontenac residents who were served by the Wilkinson Road waste site in the south west corner of the township near South Frontenac and Stone Mills, must travel a long distance to the Elbow Lake transfer station on Road 38 with their waste and recycling, Councilor Philip Smith brought forward a motion to explore the possibility of transforming the closed site into a transfer station, which was done at Elbow Lake and will be done at the Wemp Road site near Sharbot Lake, when it closes. Smith argued that it is unreasonable to force an admittedly small number of residents to travel over an hour to access a waste site. Council voted along geographical lines on the proposal, with only Smith and fellow Ward 4 councillor Nicki Gowdy supporting the motion, which was defeated.
Real Property Report
Councillor Gowdy proposed a motion which would ask for a comprehensive report about the status of each piece of property owned by the township, with a view towards developing an inventory of properties that can be sold, and a realistic estimate of their market value.
Deputy Clerk Jody Legue, who has handled 10 properties that were earmarked for sale, in order to cover the cost of the Simonett Building which was purchased in 2025 as the township’s administrative headquarters, said that it would be a large, expensive task to complete everything that was included in Gowdy’s motion, but that an extended list of properties for sale is being prepared. The motion was shortened and simplified, in order for the work to be less of a burden, and was passed by Council.
