Colleymount residents have been expressing their concerns over the conditions of Colleymount Road and gathering signatures for a petition to demand change.
Frank Lehmann and Rita Lavoie, both Colleymount residents, were recently at the Lakeview Mall in Burns Lake talking to locals and gathering signatures for their petition. The petition received almost 200 signatures over a period of two days.
“We heard many stories of concern and outrage [during those two days at Lakeview Mall],” said Lavoie.
The Colleymount Road extends from Francois Lake’s ferry landing to km 54 (west corner of Francois Lake). Safety issues include a major increase of commercial and non-commercial traffic; narrow, blind corners and sloughing on both road portions and embankments. There are also maintenance concerns relating to snow removal, sanding, grading and brushing.
“This is a very old road that never had a proper base,” explained Lavoie. “Almost 30 km of it has been seal coated, and even sections of that are sloughing, narrow and have potholes.”
“This road was not built for the length or width of today’s vehicles,” she added.
Lavoie said concerns about Colleymount Road culminated in a community meeting of about 60 people in early April 2015. During this meeting, residents voiced concerns about safety and maintenance, and then agreed to the formation of a group called “the Colleymount Road working group.”
Besides gathering signatures for the petition, the Colleymount Road working group have been in contact with Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure and Lakes District Maintenance trying to resolve this issue.
When asked what the group hopes to achieve, Lavoie said safety is the group’s number one priority. The group also prioritizes improvements to the road base and width, fixing the slough areas and improving to the overall maintenance of the road.