CambridgeToday received the following letter to the editor from reader Carol Walthers on an application for a new gravel pit.
The latest new gravel pit application in North Dumfries will include a truck route that is 1.5 km from Cambridge neighbourhoods and children's playgrounds.
Most residents are unaware of this. Cambridge council and North Dumfries have not informed them.
This is especially important for Ward 5 and Ward 6 in Cambridge. Elected representatives are aware and are supportive of the community and I thank them for their work on our behalf, however the issue of passing on this information seems to be an afterthought.
People have a right to know what is happening and how it will affect them. I have sent emails and requested to be a delegate to address the issue of communication.
There seems to be no procedure to advise people so they can send their objections to North Dumfries and the Ministry of the Environment.
There is still time for them to send in their letters, but they won't get that opportunity if they are left in the dark.
As far as I am aware, the only published information was in the Cambridge Times in May, paid for by Cambridge Aggregates.
Why does it matter? I attended several North Dumfries meetings and this is what I found out:
The Edworthy West pit will employ 400 trucks per day, 40 trucks an hour, 1.5 a minute on Spragues Road 1.5 km from Cambridge. This will cause harmful dust, gas emissions, and road congestion.
In essence this part of Spragues, which is very close to St. Andrews Road, will become an extremely dangerous truck corridor and will be overtaken by the gravel-pit operations.
Note that currently the speed limit in that area is 80 km/h. It is unlikely that these large dump trucks will reach that speed with their accelerating onto and turning off of Spragues Road and this will create nonstop road congestion all day, all week long.
Also, airborne silica, a byproduct of aggregate processing, is a known carcinogen. Silica is the smallest particle of the particles that dust is made of, and so travels the furthest. This carcinogen is travelling all over Cambridge now. We are surrounded by pits and the cumulative effect on our health in Cambridge is unknown.
In a Cambridge Facebook group, a question put to the group was from someone who was looking to move to this city. This was one answer: “Stay away from the Southwood area of west Cambridge. I moved here when it was still country 40 years ago. The area has been ruined by gravel pits. Very noisy and the dust is very unhealthy. Do not be taken in by the nice homes. You will not be told about it.”
MPAC has admitted that there is an impact on the value of the homes here. Yet in their reports the corporations deny this in order to mislead the Ontario Land Tribunal.
Carol Walthers, Cambridge
