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Region stays committed to saving the turtles in Cambridge

Another wildlife crossing on Roseville Rd could be installed in 2023.
2022 1104 Turtles BG 1
Two previously installed wildlife crossings have seen turtle and other species deaths decrease by approximately 79 per cent.

The Region of Waterloo is hoping to construct a third wildlife crossing in 2023 in an attempt to make roads safer for all species.

The Transportation and Environmental Services Report to the Community that was recently released by the region cited community concern over the number of dead turtles and frogs along a regional road near Barrie's Lake, just west of Cambridge city limits.

When residents began noticing an abnormal number of turtles and frogs turning up on the side of the roadway, the region sprung into action. After a period of monitoring and coming to the same conclusion, they recommended the installation of three wildlife culvert crossings.

To date, two crossings have been installed with a third on the way in 2023 on Roseville Road.

“There was a third crossing planned for 2022 on Roseville Road close to the North Dumfries and city of Cambridge boundary,” Mary Jo Milhomens, manager of communications and community engagement at the Region of Waterloo said. 

“But we have since learned that Enbridge Gas has plans to install a gas line through that area and we need to wait until that work is finished.”

With the gas line not expected to be completed until 2023, the final crossing is on hold.

“When we last checked with Enbridge about a month ago, the installation was likely not going to happen until 2023,” Milhomens said.

“If the gas line is installed early enough in 2023, we should be able to install the third crossing in 2023 as well.”

So far, the crossings appear to be working.

A follow-up study showed that the death of turtles and other species on the roadway have decreased by approximately 79 per cent.

The information obtained from the study will be used in the future for other potential wildlife crossings around the region.

Other local efforts to save turtles, included the installation of turtle crossing signs on Can-Amera Parkway near the Portuguese Swamp.

To view the entire Transportation and Environmental Services Report to the Community visit regionofwaterloo.ca