Lakeshore residents to pursue legal action over potholes

Plagued by pot holes Residents on a privately owned Lakeshore Road are having a hard time getting the road repaired. Travis Fortnum reports.

Residents who live along Couture Beach in Lakeshore say they’re lawyering up after the access road leading to their street has fallen into disrepair.

“It’s like a road out of Ukraine,” said Vince Renaud, who has lived on Couture Beach Road for 20 years.

The road he and about 50 others live on is accessible only via Couture Road — a privately owned road.

Renaud said the municipality maintained it until 2020 when they stopped filling in potholes.

“They still plow the snow in the wintertime and they still cut the grass along the edges but that’s it,” he said. “That’s where our tax money goes. Nothing to fix the road.”

Because the road is not public, the municipality says upkeep isn’t up to them.

Renaud and his neighbours say they don’t directly know the road’s owner but it’s believed to have been the property of a farmer who has since passed away.

With countless potholes dotting the street, some as deep as 11 inches, they say they’re worried about emergency services getting to them if required.

“I had to go to the hospital one day and the ambulance came down and they couldn’t believe how bad the road was. I told them, you better strap me in,” said Renaud.

The neighbours packed into Lakeshore council chambers Tuesday night with a delegate set to present their strife to their elected representatives – something of a last-ditch plea for help.

They were met with a brief response from Mayor Tracey Bailey after council reportedly decided on action in closed session that evening before the public meeting began.

“Council has provided direction to administration to work with the property owner regarding the mediation of couture road,” said the mayor.

The residents angrily filed out of town hall immediately after, meeting on the sidewalk outside.

They say they’re going to take legal action against either the municipality, the road’s owner or both.

“It’s the only way to settle it because we can’t keep going the way it is,” said Renaud.

He said he’s been communicating with a lawyer in Windsor who has told him they have a good case.