The designation of a road brought up an interesting discussion in the La Broquerie Council chambers on Wednesday.

According to Reeve Lewis Weiss, a resident of Cranberry Lane complained that the asphalt along the road needed repairing. Cranberry Lane is a small one-way residential road branching off of Highway 52 just west of La Broquerie that services only five homes.

As Weiss explains, Cranberry Lane was initially built in the 1980s. At that time, one resident who lived there paved his driveway and decided to do his neighbors a service by paving the entire road as well. The road’s designation has since been switched from private to public which has proved to be somewhat controversial for those living in the area.

Weiss indicates that a few residents feel the lane should continue to be treated as a private road and that they themselves be in charge of any grating, plowing, or maintenance.

“I think because the road is narrow and has no turn-around, it would be inconvenient for large equipment to do work there and they may have to drive on peoples’ properties,” reasons Weiss.

On the contrary, Weiss says some others want the benefits the RM would provide.

“We’ve recently had some complaints about the asphalt dropping,” says Weiss noting that because the road belongs to the municipality they are under obligation to repair it. At the same time, Weiss adds they are also technically under the obligation to bring the road up to municipal standards which would mean widening the roadway, digging ditches, and spreading gravel over the whole thing; a project that would not only cost the RM roughly $200,000, but also destroy the yards of the homeowners whose lawns are currently flush with the road.

“Plus, it’s not the only road in the municipality that is below today’s standards,” comments Weiss, “there are quite a few other roads with a lot more people living on them.”

All things considered, Council felt that paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to demolish a good asphalt road made little sense. However, because of its designation, they conceded that something should be done and decided to grant the request of the person who complained.

“I don’t think we’ll have it in the budget this year,” states Weiss, “but I think Council plans on repairing the surface next year and then leave the road the way it is.”

It appears that residents of Cranberry Lane will be able to continue enjoying the perks of a private road while having the RM attend to the imperfections in the pavement.