If you enjoyed a peaceful drive along the Long Sault Parkway in years gone by, you’re out of luck this winter.
South Stormont council has decided not to fund winter road clearing on the network that links a series of islands and campsites along the St. Lawrence River. The parkway closed Friday.
The reason is simple economics, said South Stormont’s deputy-mayor Tammy Hart.
“We’re doing it for cost reasons and liability reasons,” she said in an interview. “It’s not our property anyways.”
She’s right – the property actually belongs to the St. Lawrence Parks Commission.
But the municipality had taken care of the plowing since 2001.
The parkway had been closed during the winter for years before South Stormont took over the plowing.
The news isn’t all bad, though. Parkway islands will remain available for outdoor use such as snowmobiling, cross country skiing and dogsledding.