Tecumseh's deputy mayor wants to address sidewalk gaps within the Town.
Joe Bachetti will be bringing forward a notice of motion at this evening's council meeting looking for a public works report on a consulting project to involve conducting a sidewalk gap analysis.
Bachetti says there are missing or disconnected sidewalks in the town, and this analysis would aim to help planners and transportation officials understand where sidewalks are incomplete, which can hinder pedestrian mobility and safety.
He says this motion coincides with the analysis of School Safety Zones report also going to council. The Town retained WSP Canada Inc. to conduct a review of the 12 school sites, both elementary and secondary, throughout the municipality.
Improvements were identified at each school such as new signage, pavement markings, installation of tactile plates, pedestrian crossovers, and more. Council will be asked to have the $1.4-million in improvements be referred to the 2026 budget deliberations.
But Bachetti says it's not just school zones that need improvements and this report will look at which areas within the Town need updates.
"It's going to look at a birds eye view of all the sidewalks, and some sidewalks just stop and there's no connection to the next block. So this review would identify those gaps, and give us the missing and disconnected segments of these walkway networks."
He says ward 2 and ward 4 within the Town has a lack of sidewalks.
"These are areas where we can try to pinpoint these gaps in the community, and prioritize these areas for the sidewalk construction. This will always go to a public meeting, there's going to be input, and that's where I'm asking council for their support so that we can refer this to future public works, and add it to our 2026 budget process plan."
He says there are lack of sidewalks even within established neighbourhoods.
"We do have a policy that say anything built after 2002, the subdivisions require sidewalks. So it's almost like playing catch up, but unless we have this sidewalk gap analysis, it will focus on obviously the school zones, but it's going to improve the overall walkability and make our community a walkable community."
Bachetti says this report, if approved by council to move forward, would be brought back to council for consideration during budget time.
Council will meet Tuesday at 7 p.m.