CORNWALL – The expansion of Ninth Street and Marleau Avenue at McConnell Avenue has also drawn an unwanted eyesore – long grass.
The parcel of land, which had been home to the Ontario Early Years Center, was bought by the city for the street widening project but the rest of the property has become overgrown with long grass, drawing complaints from at least one neighbour.
“(The) grass is waist deep and has not been cut once since the spring. What a disgrace and, yes, calls, messages to city officials have gone unanswered,” neighbour Dianne Lacelle told Cornwall Newswatch.
Her Kingslea Crescent home backs on the property. “That open field is an eye sore from my back yard. I have to look at it daily,” she wrote.
City of Cornwall Municipal Parks-Arborist Supervisor Scott Porter told CNW, the contractor did cut the edge of the property where it was safe to use a mower.
“The remainder of the area will be cut with a machine known as a Bush Hog due to the uneven ground, being a construction area. This machine does a rough cut which will cut the long grass down,” Porter said.
The work was scheduled to be done today but, due to the rain, was postponed until Tuesday (Monday is a holiday).
The first phase of the widening of Marleau Avenue between Marlborough Street and Alice Street is expected to be done by mid-summer.
In July 2015, the federal government provided $833,000 for the project with a match from the provincial government. The City of Cornwall was responsible for the balance, in the neighbourhood of $833,000.
The intersection sees about 17,000 vehicles per day.
The entire Marleau Avenue Reconstruction Project (from Marlborough Street to Glenview Boulevard) will cost $11 million.