It used to be that visitors to Kara Clarke’s home got to walk on an actual sidewalk before getting there. Now they have to be more careful, as a pit close to the size of Clarke’s yard now occupies the path.
But that’s not the worst of it. Clarke’s home has been changed, with the roots of her trees damaged possibly beyond repair. Her bed of perennials which took over half a decade to grow were dug up and put back in crude fashion, while a makeshift gravel sidewalk now sits 2 meters away from her home, on a yard she thought was her own property. She later learned that the land belonged to the Town of Perth.
That’s how it is on Wilson Street, which is being affected by the town’s largest construction project, aimed at improving the infrastructure of the street, both under and over the ground. The project will include an overhaul of the street’s sewage and water pipes, as well as a redesign of the road and its adjacent sidewalks.
The project was originally scheduled for completion in 3 years, but must now be finished by March 2011 to avail of government funding.
And while Clarke knows that the project will be a great help in the long run, she and her fellow residents, as well as those who own businesses along the street, are still being affected by the construction. For now, they’ll to tough it out until next year.
