PUSLINCH – The township is investigating how to make roads like Watson Road South safer for turtles and other wildlife.
This follows residents Steve Naylor and Gabrielle Monteith presenting to Puslinch council Wednesday morning to request the township investigate options to install wildlife passages and further protect turtles nesting in gravel shoulders on Watson Road South.
Spending approximately $60,000 on their Watson Road farm to protect wildlife like turtles, Monteith and Naylor said they presented because they want the township to be more proactive about these issues especially as it's common to see turtles crossing, nesting or dead on Watson Road South where it bisects provincially significant wetland for approximately 370 metres.
To prevent further deaths, the duo suggested the township install things like appropriate fencing, three-foot wide culverts and a flashing turtle crossing sign to allow wildlife safe crossing and reduce the road's speed limit to 60 km/hour to improve safety for both residents and animals.
The township previously installed turtle fencing on Lake Road for approximately $200,000.
While supportive of the proposed measures to make existing turtle activity safer, Mayor James Seeley said he's "not a champion for turtles nesting on the road" and would like to see other options investigated like paving the gravel shoulders to discourage this activity.
Coun. John Sepulis also expressed concerns about encouraging turtles to lay their eggs on the side of the road.
"In an ideal world, it would be nice to have piles of sandy gravel in a big hump dumped off the side of the road and they would use that just like they have with (existing nesting sites)," said Monteith, during the meeting. "But we wouldn't have any turtles if there wasn't somewhere for them to nest and unfortunately, (the shoulders are) what they're making use of because there isn't anywhere else right now."
Monteith and Naylor were also concerned about the township previously using reground asphalt on some Watson Road shoulders and its subsequent migration into the nearby wetlands.
The township's director of public works, parks and facilities Mike Fowler confirmed during the meeting that using the reground asphalt in the shoulders "was a one-off idea" to help stabilize areas with high erosion.
Coun. Sara Bailey encouraged both delegates to create an official grassroots organization to share info on turtles and their mortality and educate the township and residents on why wildlife crossings are necessary.
Coun. Jessica Goyda asked staff to investigate the feasibility of setting aside annual funds to develop a program to facilitate infrastructure at turtle-crossing hot spots.
Staff will report back on incorporating turtle fencing along township roadways and only using reground asphalt on shoulders more than 30 metres away from wetlands during the 2025 budget process.
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.
