St. Stephen council is considering a new bylaw that would require applicants to pay for painted crosswalks in the town.
Jeff Renaud, the chief administrative officer for the Municipal District of St. Stephen (MDSS), said he’d done some research after an initial discussion on a crosswalk policy.
“So, the work here is largely based on policies that had been acquired from municipalities across the country,” he said speaking to the council on Wednesday. “They’re trying to do things like this.”
He said the key points are to ensure groups that want to undertake work could apply to the municipality for coloured or themed crosswalks in their neighbourhood.
“It does require support from the surrounding area, we would require that in writing, and is at the cost of the applicant,” he said. “A small community group could gather some money to fund that installation.”
Coun. Marg Harding said she felt it would be a good first draft of the policy. She said someone from the legion had approached her and another councillor and wondered if that type of thing would fall under this new policy – should it be voted on by the council.
“It’s council policy,” Renaud said. “Not all scenarios will fit this policy, if it is near and dear to the council’s heart and they wish to do something regardless of the policy, it always has that ability.”
Renaud explained this sets general rules for any applications that come in for a coloured or themed crosswalk. He did clarify that not all applications would come to the council, they would first be vetted by the town administration.
Coun. Earle Eastman applauded the draft policy, saying to the council that it really narrows the focus and onus on the individuals who want this done.
He also said it is good the policy now includes parameters about maintaining the crosswalk.
Coun. Emily Rodas suggested the council could require a non-profit number or limit to community groups and organizations for applications for crosswalks.
“Maybe it is a group of veterans, or the legion itself, coming forward and then proposing it,” she said. “It would just be a lot easier for us to go through policy and approve if it’s already got support.”
There is a requirement that 60 per cent of the neighbourhood would need to sign a petition for any crosswalk application to be considered, Renaud explained.
He said there is no need for formalization at this point, so people wanting to do something nice in their neighbourhood can still happen, with the majority of support from the residents.
“We want to make it accessible to the grassroots folks who want to do something good,” he said.
No date has been set yet for the policy to come to the council. It will require passing through first, second, and third readings pending any amendments before finally being voted on.
