Numerous chants of “free our sidewalk” were loudly heard along Wellington St. West on Wednesday morning, July 24th, 2019 as over one hundred Hintonburg residents and business owners gathered at the Magee House sidewalk barricade to mark the one year anniversary of the collapse of Magee House’s west wall.
We were expressing our continuing frustration with the slow pace of resolution to this unacceptably lengthy closure of our main street sidewalk and part of our roadway. The event was widely covered by television, radio, the newspapers and social media. Our point was made: enough is enough!
Just prior to the rally, Councillor Jeff Leiper, who has been working very hard on this file, announced that the City will stop issuing construction encroachment permits on August 2nd, 2019 if stabilization work on Magee House has not been completed and intervene to ensure that our sidewalk and roadway can open as soon as possible.
We are delighted to learn that the City will utilize its powers to take charge of the work if the deadline is not met. We will be watching over August in anticipation of the sidewalk’s reopening. That occasion would indeed be cause for celebration!
We, at the HCA, appreciate the West Wellington Business Improvement Area (WWBIA) for their support and several businesses for stepping in to express their thanks to rally attendees by providing coffee, tea, cake and utensils. Thank you to The Cake Shop, Café Maillot and Nu Grocery.