BRENDA O’FARRELL
The 1019 Report

A plan in Hudson that many thought was simply a proposal to repave a quiet street in dire need of repair is turning into a vociferous debate over the character and style of the small town, as residents packed Monday evening’s council meeting to urge elected officials to delay approving a contract to rebuild Lakeview Street, a stretch of broken, bumpy and uneven pavement that is less than a kilometre long.

Before the meeting was over, and after a number of residents raised their concerns, council took a brief recess. When the meeting resumed, elected officials approved a motion to delay the vote on the contract until next month, putting on hold a $3.7-million plan to rebuild the street, a proposal that would widen the thoroughfare to include a multi-use path for cyclists and pedestrians separated from the street by a green strip designed to accommodate improved drainage.

“The idea is to try to get a win-win,” said Gilles Stratti, one of the residents who asked council to delay the contract approval to consider possible options to reduce the scope of the project that is set to expand the built width of the artery necessitating the removal of a number of trees and hedges along the street.

But Hudson Mayor Chloe Hutchison outlined the options.

“If we narrow the lane,” Hutchison said, referring to a suggestion to reduce the pedestrian-cycling path, “we say goodbye to the subsidy.”

The subsidy Hutchison referenced is a $2.04-million federal government contribution announced last July that will cover more than half the cost of the project to rebuild the street. The grant, provided by the Canadian government’s Active Transportation Fund, comes with two strings attached – the cycling-pedestrian path must be a minimum of 2.5 metres wide and the project has to be completed by March of next year.

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Residents voiced their concerns with plan to widen Lakeview Avenue with a separated bike and pedestrian lane at Monday evening’s council meeting.

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LAKEVIEW: Grant
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Hutchison further cautioned that a move to reopen the project to include redesigning the drainage plan would necessitate obtaining a renewed approval from provincial authorities, and that would push the completion beyond the March 2024 deadline.

“We are feeling like we are being steamrolled,” said Lakeview resident David Smith, who said he bought a house on the street because he felt it was a safe, quiet place to raise his kids and where he has taught them to ride their bikes.

He said widening the street with the addition of a multi-use lane and installing benches and garbage cans in front of his house, as proposed in the current plan, would invite teenagers from nearby schools to hang out near his house.

The high school teacher says he hears students now as they walk by his home. “I don’t want to necessarily invite them to have a seat there,” he said.

“Is there any willingness to compromise?” he asked council, and questioned why the town scheduled a public consultation meeting after the project was set to be approved by council.

“This is a really great project, a really great grant for St. Laurent,” said another resident of the street. “This is destroying the character of Hudson.”

The homeowner urged the council to reconsider the plan.

“Surely there is a grant out there more appropriate for Hudson,” she said. “Take the time to do the project appropriately.”

Danica Lewington, another resident of the street, who raised eight children at her home, said she likes her quiet street, and described the plan simply: “That’s a boulevard.” And she expressed concern that the work could force the removal of a large oak tree on the edge of her property.

“Everyone here would be happy with a simple resurfacing,” said Rob McMaster, a resident of Oakland Street.

Residents are invited to a public consultation meeting on the project on May 27. Hutchison said she will ensure the presentation of the details of the project will include illustrations to clearly explain the impacts and benefits of the project. Council rescheduled the vote to approve the contract to carry out the work for June 2.

Contacted yesterday by The 1019 Report, Vaudreuil MP Peter Schiefke said a request for an extension to the deadline to complete the work to fulfill the requirements of the federal grant can be made. But these requests are considered on a case-by-case basis, he explained, and there are no guarantees of approval.