Taking into account strong public feedback and opinion, Chatham-Kent council chose an alternative way to deal with Lake Erie erosion issues affecting Talbot Trail between Wheatley and Erieau.
Instead of approving an environmental assessment for a section of the road from Ellerbeck Road to County Road 12, council instead voted in favour of an option to conduct an environmental service assessment on a smaller part of the road from Ellerbeck Road to Stevenson Road while relocating a closed part of Talbot Trail so it can reopen in the next couple of years.
Council chambers were packed, with an overflow crowd in not only council chambers but all so in an adjoining meeting room where people watched the meeting on a large screen. Public sentiment and deputations to council were strongly in favour of not going ahead with the full environmental assessment as well as not making plans for the future relocation of a large section of Talbot Trail.
South Kent councillor Anthony Ceccacci said it was important to listen to area residents and make a decision that represented the community’s wishes.
“I overwhelmingly heard from my community that they did want us to designate that corridor,” Ceccacci said, noting that it was the best and most feasible option based on the feedback he received from the community.
In a report to council from Chatham-Kent’s engineering department, the approach that was approved by council was called a “do nothing” approach for a road protection for any corridor and would not provide a plan for the properties along the coast for future access and building relocation. The report said this approach would defer any action to a future council.
Talbot Trail resident John Mann said council’s decision was a positive outcome.
Mann said he would like to have a shoreline protection program put in place to not only protect Talbot Trail but area homes near the lake as well, an idea that was proposed by other residents as well.
In 2019, municipal officials closed a portion of the road near Coatsworth because erosion from Lake Erie had damaged its structural integrity. Plans to reroute a large section of the road away from the lake was seen as a way to prevent other sections of the road having to be closed in the future. The municipality hired BT Engineering to prepare an environmental assessment on a section of the Talbot Trail from just east of Wheatley to just west of Erieau.
Chatham-Kent has already spent over $400,000 on consultants to deal with the Talbot Trial relocation issue. With council choosing an alternative option, it will cost $20,000 in additional consulting fees, with the money to come from Chatham-Kent’s capital funds.
