Plans for an extension of the sidewalk along the west side of Highway 34 in Vankleek Hill are off the drawing board now.
A public works department report to Champlain Township council last month indicated the work involved for the extension is higher than the municipality can afford right now.
In a report to council February 25, Public Works Director Maxime Lafrance stated that after a detailed study of the engineering needs for the proposed extension “it was determined the cost of constructing a new sidewalk between VCI and Foodland is cost prohibitive.”
In August 2024 council asked the public works department to prepare a report about the feasibility of extending the existing sidewalk along the west side of Highway 34 within the Village of Vankleek Hill. The proposed 360-metre extension would have stretched from Vankleek Collegiate Institute (VCI) to the Foodland market entrance.
The department contracted EVB Engineering to review options for the proposed extension, including a cost estimated. The consultant firm’s report to the department included an estimate of $1,046,788, that allowed for a three-per-cent allowance on the cost based on the consumer price index for 2026.
The reasons for the $1 million estimate is that the project would involve installing storm sewers to deal with water run off from the road and also require modifying the existing adjacent ditch to accommodate a sidewalk. Provincial standards for sidewalks demand they be 1.5-metres wide in addition to the curbing.
“If a new sidewalk is installed,” stated Lafrance’s report, “it would either impede onto the existing road shoulder or require modifications to the ditch, both of which would be costly.”
Lafrance’s report also noted that the engineering demands for this kind of project would also require a topographic survey to determine elevations of the sidewalk extension infrastructure, a geotechnical survey, a soil profile character report, and a legal survey. When all that was done, a preliminary engineering design and then a detailed design are needed as part of the preparation for tender package to put the project out for bid to construction outfits. The report to council noted that construction costs of at least $800,000 would make up most of the expense for the project depending on what kind of bids the township received on it.
Lafrance’s report noted that the type of engineering design and construction work required for this kind of project “is beyond the scope” of the qualifications of public works staff. Municipal public works employees are capable on doing the work needed for replacing existing sidewalks, repaving roads, and installing small culverts but not the level of new construction work needed for a sidewalk extension of this kind.
The report to council recommended against doing an extension of the sidewalk and suggested that the municipality’s focus be on rehabilitation of existing infrastructure like roads, buildings, equipment and other items based on the township’s asset management plans.
Council voted to accept the report and its recommendations.
