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Long Point Causeway project sparks concerns over wildlife, road safety
Some residents in Norfolk County are raising concerns over a project that has already seen the landscape of the Long Point Causeway change.
The project is set to remove over 100 trees from along the road to allow for a road widening and resurfacing project to be completed.
Norfolk County announced the project back in September that aims to remove 109 trees and prune another 22.
It says it is addressing trees in poor condition, as well as ensuring the successful and safe completion of the Long Point Causeway Resurfacing Project, which is scheduled for the upcoming summer.
Stacey Crawford and Angela Woodward live in the area and say they are concerned about what the removals will mean for local wildlife.
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“A lot of people really love the drive in, they love the wildlife, which is now displaced.” says Woodward.
“My tree was cut down, and I’d see bald eagles, golden eagles, all kinds of birds of prey…and now where are the birds going to go? Where are they going to hunt?” adds Crawford.
At this time, many trees along the causeway have been removed or significantly pruned.
Crawford says in addition to her concerns about the wildlife, she’s also concerned about the plan to widen the causeway road, in that it will promote speeding.
“People who are already speeding and going above the 50 kilometers an hour speed limit, I think that’s going to increase speeding. People are driving way too fast, and where the police monitor this area, there’s nowhere for them to park, so they can’t monitor it.”
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She’s also worried that a wider roadway would encourage more people to walk or bike on the shoulder, an area she insists is not safe enough when cars are travelling upwards of 100 kilometers an hour.
Norfolk County Mayor Amy Martin says discussions surrounding the upcoming resurfacing project are ongoing and the plan to widen the roadway is to promote active transportation.
“The road width is there not to encourage increased speed, we’re trying to encourage active transportation. We see so many people from one of the causeway to the other pull over for bird watching, or taking a look at bird watching, and so on and it’s not safe.” Martin says.
As for the trees, the mayor says the county plans to re-plant the appropriate species of trees after the resurfacing project.
“That program will come out in the spring, so it will include approved species that are ideal for that area along the causeway and in the surrounding area and it will also include shrubs and grasses that the wildlife will benefit from in that area.”