New Route Avoids Towns Eats Farms

By LAURA CUDWORTH STAFF REPORTER -Stratford Beeacon Herald Jan. 18th, 2011

Shakespeare will be spared but some historical sites and Perth East farmland will fall victim to an expanded highway.

The Ministry of Transportation unveiled the route that the new multi-lane highway likely will take at a public meeting at the Shakespeare and District Optimist Hall Monday night. There will be another meeting tonight from 4 to 9 p.m.

The route follows Hwy. 7/8 until about 2.5 kilometres east of Shakespeare. It dips south and follows the train tracks and eventually veers further south through a bush lot and farmland, then follows a municipal drain before it connects with Line 33 or Pork Rd., where it bypasses Stratford.

It was a relief for many residents to see the highway move south of Shakespeare. There was a strong lobby by village residents after some proposals had five lanes go right through the centre of the community.

"I'm very happy to see the MTO has found a way of bypassing the village," said Dave Cole, chairperson of Shakespeare Area Residents Association.
"The key is to make sure the smallest number of people are impacted. I believe this is a step in the right direction."

Though Cole was happy the route doesn't go through Shakespeare, he said he does feel for those who will be affected by the highway. Some of those will be farmers. Land will be eaten up when the highway follows 7/8 and more will be affected when it dips to the south. Gary West's property won't be touched by the new route, but he was left wondering how farmers who are affected will manage.

"It's going to be tough if you have to move machinery from one side (of the highway) to the other," he said. He wondered if combines and other heavy equipment would be allowed on the new highway at all.

The Agriculture Business Community of Perth East, Perth South and Wilmot West has 300 members and has been well organized and actively advocating to protect as much farmland as possible.

Sharon Weitzel wasn't prepared to speak for the group immediately after seeing the plan last night.

"We have a large membership that needs to digest this," she said. "All I can say is it goes through a lot of farmland."

History buffs have some concerns about the plan, too. The highway expansion goes past the Fryfogel Inn as well as Lingelbach cemetery and church. All of those properties are already close to the road. "It's not very positive. I'm sure we'll direct some concerns to the Ministry of Transportation," said Ian Taylor, a member of the Perth County Historical Foundation.
He also had concerns about the impact on the railway if the Canadian National Railway wants to expand the tracks.

Charles Organ, MTO project manager, said the ministry could mitigate the impact on the Fryfogel Inn by expanding on the north side. "We recognize the historical significance of the Fryfogel Inn and respect that and we'll factor that in as the study moves on," he said.
Organ called the Lingelbach Church and cemetery a pinch point.

"We tend to steer away from cemeteries," he said, though the impact on the church would also be looked at. Organ said there was positive feedback at the meeting and unless new and significant information comes forward, the process will likely move to the next stage, which is a preliminary design.

For his part, Cole is satisfied with the process. "I do believe the system works. The MTO asked for feedback-- every time we answered and we were heard," he said.

After tonight's meeting, the ministry will be accepting more feedback.
The next meeting is scheduled for late spring and another in late 2011 will focus on the preferred preliminary design. The study should be complete by 2012.

lcudworth@bowesnet.com