05-29-2022, 09:39 AM
(This post was last modified: 05-29-2022, 09:40 AM by danbrotherston.)
(05-29-2022, 08:41 AM)ijmorlan Wrote:(05-29-2022, 01:54 AM)danbrotherston Wrote: They cannot allow that land to be occupied because of the contamination. It is dangerous to human health. They could decontaminate it, but it would be a significant investment.
Um, if it’s bad enough that it’s not even safe to bicycle through or walk on, then it’s bad enough that it definitely should be cleaned up forthwith.
The canoe museum in Peterborough ran into a similar situation. They were going to build on an iconic site right next to the lift locks (currently a portion of a park, open to the public), but then contamination from a nearby site was detected. Now they’re building further downstream in a much less interesting location, and the contamination will not be cleaned up in the foreseeable future. How does that make any sense?
The argument that regional staff were making was that moving through is fine, because people are not lingering and more importantly not disturbing or playing in the dirt.
Now, you all know my opinion of regional engineers, but I know relatively little about soil contamination (compared with say, my knowledge of transportation) and I believe they needed approval from the ministry of the environment for this, so I have little option here but to trust what they say.
Do I think it should be cleaned up...of course yes. But I'm also happy that the trail is built, even though it isn't cleaned up.