'It will literally shake us into the lake faster': Chatham-Kent residents oppose plan for new road

Shoreline road concerns Some Chatham-Kent residents oppose a new road along the Lake Erie Shoreline. CTV Windsor’s Michelle Maluske explains why.

The Municipality of Chatham-Kent is considering a $4-million plan to build a Talbot Trail bypass near Coatsworth, but some residents oppose the idea.

“We're urging them to vote no on this short term solution to reopening the Talbot Trail at the existing location,” Vlasta Kamensky tells CTV News.

She is spearheading a grassroots effort by lakeside property owners who are worried about erosion along the coast of Lake Erie. They have launched a petition.

“If it (Talbot Trail) was reopened, the heavy traffic from the transport trucks would cause vibrations and that has been proven to accelerate the erosion,” says Kamensky. “It will literally shake us into the lake faster.”

The Background

In July 2019, a small section of Talbot Trail was closed between Coatsworth Road and Stevenson Road “..because of the risk of slope and road failure due to the regressing/unstable bluff slope in this area,” according to Marissa Mascaro, director of engineering for the municipality of Chatham-Kent.

In February 2020, the municipality launched an environmental assessment, “to develop a long-term transportation plan for Talbot Trail.”

That work concluded in May 2023 and four options were formulated:

Do nothing

Relocate Talbot Trail (2 options included)

Maintain roadway but reinforce underneath

Maintain roadway but stabilize the shoreline

Engineers are recommending Talbot Trail be relocated north to the edge of where they predict the shoreline will be within 30 years.

The Objection

Lakeside property owners, including Kamensky and Brent and Jane Marie Ward tell CTV News that proposal is based on flawed data.

“That erosion is much faster than the one meter per year that is being used for the recommendations,” says Kamensky.

“We've lost 12 meters in three years,” says Jane Marie Ward, who has lived on Lake Erie for 35 years. “We're seeing our property go into the lake.”

They believe a new Talbot Trail bypass along the shoreline will be impacted – or even washed away – in less than 30 years.

And, they believe bringing transport trucks back onto Talbot Trail along the shoreline will only increase the erosion.

“We’re preserving the ability of this area to last as long as possible, and also to save taxpayers from putting out four million (dollars) now,” says Brent Ward, who says its “inevitable” a lakeside road won’t last 30 years, “because of what we’re seeing here.”

The residents also dispute measuring from the top of the bluff to the water’s edge for establishing a hazard zone.

“The measurement should be taken from the nearest tension crack because that’s where it’s lower,” Kamensky says. “That's where Lower Thames (Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority) says that's what belongs to the lake after that point.”

The Ward’s and other shoreline owners say tension cracks further inland can appear “overnight” and they say they are the first sign of shoreline erosion as the land “slumps” towards the water.

They believe if the measurements were taken from the edge of the tension cracks to the water, the erosion hazard zone would be much further inland.

The Alternative

The Wards, Kamensky’s and other shoreline owners would rather council invest in enhancing and paving Concession Line 2, which is much further north of the 30 and 100 year hazard zone.

“We have been using the second concession for five years, and all people are asking is to pave it, to finally pave it,” says Kamensky.

The road is currently gravel, with large ditches on both sides and heavy trucks are prohibited.

It means trucks to and from a large greenhouse operation (Hacienda North Farms) in Coatsworth must detour to paved roads.

“Any narratives that greenhouse operators are driving the Municipality’s decision-making process are patently untrue,” says Mascaro.

In a written statement, Mascaro says Concession Road 2 is part of their long-range, 100-year hazard zone plans.

The idea of moving Talbot Trail within the 30-year hazard zone is an “interim” solution, according to Mascaro.

The Future

If council agrees to relocate Talbot Trail, as its currently proposed, two properties would have to be purchased by the municipality and utilities for the greenhouse would have to be “protected and relocated”.

The residents believe council will be considering the fate of Talbot Trail at a meeting on February 26.

Spokesperson for the municipality Eric Labadie couldn’t confirm Monday when the matter will be up for consideration.

The residents tell CTV News they meet regularly to strategize their opposition.

“How do we make Council aware that this is happening? That what is presented to them is not (a) true reflection of what we see living here,” says Kamensky.

Chatham-Kent councillor for the area Lauren Anderson directed questions to the municipality.