City hall is looking over a petition from a centretown neighbourhood that demands the eventual removal of a sidewalk from a cramped street.
Fourteen property owners on Dunkirk Avenue in Cornwall have signed a petition requesting that the sidewalk on the north side of the street be removed.
The residents cite the narrow sidewalk and the large number of properties crammed into such a small street that have created a headache for homeowners looking to safely park their vehicles, or take a walk.
But how successful their request will be remains to be seen.
City council agreed to send their petition to administrators to repare a report on the matter. Some councillors were fairly vehement in their opposition to the removal of a sidewalk.
"Are we wasting administration's time in looking at this?" said Coun. Andre Rivette. "We're not in the business of removing sidewalks. We're in the business of building sidewalks.
"It's a cost I don't think needs to be spent."
Coun. Elaine MacDonald was of a similar mind, and suggested that perhaps the issue could wait until Dunkirk is slated for some road repair work - then the sidewalk could be considered at the same time.
Clayton Arcand, along with his wife Stacey Watters, are the architects of the petition and said removing the sidewalk when road repair work commences is fine with them - but they want to see the sidewalk removed.
"We just don't want it replaced," said Arcand.
The north side of Dunkirk Avenue has 14 propeties, while the south side has just 11, which the couple argues results in small driveways and the like.
They added the sidewalk problem becomes doubly concerning during the winter, when large sidewalk-clearing snowblowers damage their property, and those belonging to neighbours.
"It's the damage they do every year," said Arcand. "They just tear up the whole yard. It's like clock work."
The couple and their supporters on Dunkirk plan to wait for an answer as long as they have to.
There has been no timeline attached to the report administrators are preparing on the subject.
