The Roads and Drainage Division of the Operations Department maintains the 265.77 kilometres of roads within the Town. Our crews coordinate roads and drainage related activities from the Works yard in Ravenna, located at 496011 Grey Road 2. Our crew performs general roadside maintenance during the summer while the prime responsibilities of the crews are winter control operations, such as plowing and sanding the roads.
Road Closure and Lane Restriction Notices
The Town's Roads Division is responsible for winter road maintenance on roads assumed by the Town which includes plowing, sanding and salting operations.
All maintenance standards are based on post-event operations (i.e. after a snowfall or storm event) and adhere to guidelines set out in the Municipal Act and the Town’s Level of Service requirements. The Roads Division works diligently to clear snow and ice quickly from the roadways. Many factors including temperature, precipitation and forecasts determine road maintenance operations.
During winter weather events the Town provides updates on snow clearing operations on the Newsroom webpage.
The Town utilizes ‘tar and chip’ paving on many of its roads. Tar and chip paving is used on rural roads with low to medium volumes of traffic as a more cost effective and durable alternate to asphalt cement paving.
Tar and chip roads look similar to asphalt cement roads.
Maintenance on your tar and chip road may occur every 7 to 10 years between May 15th and September 1st. This will involve repaving one layer of tar and chip (single surface treatment). Roads which are being newly paved will receive two successive layers of tar and chip (double surface treatment). Town road maintenance Staff may sweep the road several weeks or months following the initial application of tar and chip in order to reduce the loose stone. These brief periods of inconvenience will be followed by a road surface similar to an asphalt cement road for a period of approximately 7 years.
When your road has been recently paved using tar and chip technology, Staff ask that you not sweep the road during the time period when the chip is loose. Sweeping may result in poor wearing surface and an unsafe road condition. The most helpful thing you can do is reduce your vehicle speed. This will assist in reducing the disturbance on the roadway to ensure a clean, even surface as well as minimizing dust from the road.
For questions related to the tar and chip application process, contact the Ravenna Works Yard, 519-599-6714.
For roads maintenance inquiries contact the Operations Department.
In our ongoing effort to ensure the safety of our residents and visitors, permits are required for construction related activity. The purpose of a permit is to ensure that Town staff are aware of any and all conditions which may arise as a result of construction related activity.
Please visit the Entrance Permit Webpage for information on how to obtain a permit application for development, construction and maintenance.
Press Release (Issued April 27, 2021) Notice- 2021 Wild Chervil Pesticide Spraying Notification
2021 Roadside Spraying Map: Wild Chervil Spraying Map - 2021
Fact Sheet: Wild Chervil Fact Sheet
The noxious weed control program is regulated under the Weed Control Act and is used to control and eradicate Wild Chervil, which is deemed as a noxious weed in the Province of Ontario. The spraying will occur over four consecutive days, between the middle of May to early June, depending upon the weather, and the Town will issue a formal notice on the newsroom of the Town website before the spraying starts.
Opt-out of Pesticide Spraying and Do Not Spray Signs
To opt-out of pesticide spraying on the road allowance fronting a property, residents should contact the Town to receive a ‘Do Not Spray’ sign that can be installed on the road allowance at the limits of the property’s frontage. In addition, the contractors have been advised to only apply the pesticide to grass roadside areas that appear to be visually unkept and where there is evidence of Wild Chervil.
It is important to note that Under the Provincial Weed Control Act, the Town is required to control Wild Chervil. Regardless of posted signs, unmaintained sections of the Town road allowance will still be sprayed if there is evidence of wild chervil.
If you have questions about this process or would like to request a sign, please call 519-599-3131 ext. 259. If you live along a County Road, please direct your inquires or questions to 519-376-7337 or via email at roads@grey.ca.
Proactive Monitoring & Cooperative Compliance
The Town remains committed to ensuring that the spread of Wild Chervil is managed and controlled. To that end, the Town recently appointed an additional Weed Inspector who will be trained on Wild Chervil identification and who will be available to assist residents. Enforcement of the Town’s Noxious Weed Bylaw continues to place emphasis on education and cooperative compliance. In addition, Town staff will be monitoring Wild Chervil throughout the season in an effort to assess the effectiveness of control and reducing spread.
Shared Stewardship
Wild Chervil is detrimental to agricultural lands. The Town encourages all property owners and residents to actively identify and eliminate Wild Chervil on their own properties in fields, lawns and gardens to help reduce the spread of this noxious weed.
Additional Information on Wild Chervil can be found by visiting the Ontario Invading Species Awareness Program website: http://www.invadingspecies.com/wild-chervil/
It is also important to understand that Wild chervil can be confused with Queen Anne’s lace (Daucus carota). However, the leaves of wild chervil are more distinctively fernlike in shape. The umbels of Queen Anne’s lace have bracts below them, while the umbels of wild chervil do not have bracts. Wild chervil usually flowers in mid- to late spring; Queen Anne’s lace flowers later in the season. https://cisma-suasco.org/invasive/wild-chervil/
Road Jurisdiction
It is also important to understand that the Town of The Blue Mountains will only be spraying rural roads that are within the jurisdiction of the Town of Blue Mountains.
All County roads are within the jurisdiction of County of Grey, which administers their own noxious weed control program. For information, please visit: www.grey.ca
What is Wild Chervil?
Wild chervil is a herbaceous biennial or short-lived perennial from the parsley family, introduced to North America from Europe. It was first brought to North America as part of European wildflower seed mix used for plantings along hedgerows and meadows.
This species is short-lived, forming a rosette of only leaves in the first year, then flowering and producing seeds in the second year. As a heavy seed producer, it is easily spread to new locations. Wild chervil has few checks on its population in North America and can quickly take over an area, displacing native species and forming dense stands that are difficult to control.
Source: Ontario’s Invading Species Awareness Program
What Chemical is Being Sprayed?
The licensed contractor will be using Truvist Herbicide, which contains the active ingredients, Chlorsulfuron and Aminocyclopyrachlor. PCP Registration Number 30920 in combination with Hasten NT Spray Adjuvant, which contains active ingredients Methyl and ethyl oleate (esterified vegetable oil). PCP Registration Number 28277 under the Pest Control Products Act. Truvist is an approved herbicide shown to be effective in controlling Wild Chervil along the Town road allowance.
Why is the Town spraying to destroy Wild Chervil?
Under the Provincial Weed Control Act, The Town of the Blue Mountains, like all landowners in Ontario, is responsible for the destruction of noxious weeds on its property.
What is the Town doing to control Wild Chervil?
The Town has hired a licensed contractor to spray Truvist to control the re-growth of Wild Chervil. Truvist was successfully tested in plots on roadsides throughout Grey County with input from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) and University of Guelph.
At this time, Truvist is only approved for use on roadsides and not for use on private land such as fields and pasture.
What can I do to help?
Currently, there are no products approved for spraying Wild Chervil on private property, but residents are still responsible for destroying noxious weeds on their land. Taking the following three steps can help eliminate Wild Chervil within the Town of The Blue Mountains.
I don’t want the Town to spray the roadside in front of my house. How can I stop that from happening?
Under the Provincial Weed Control Act, the Town is required to control Wild Chervil. The licensed contractor only sprays where there is visible or recent historical evidence of Wild Chervil.
The plant requires several years of repeated spraying to control its growth. A property owner can choose to regularly cut the road side ditch areas adjacent to their property which will control the growth of Wild Chervil. The contractor will not spray areas that appear to be cut regularly. If the area is regularly cut and maintained, the Wild Chervil will not have the opportunity to grow and seed.
Where can I get additional information?
Use the contact information on this page to call the Town if you have questions or concerns about Wild Chervil or other noxious weeds.
For more information regarding Wild Chervil, please visit the Provincial Invading Species website at: http://www.invadingspecies.com/wild-chervil
In our ongoing effort to ensure the safety of our residents and visitors, permits are required for construction related activity. The purpose of a permit is to ensure that Town staff are aware of any and all conditions which may arise as a result of construction related activity.
Each person, firm or utility requiring to make an excavation or perform works on Town Lands in the Town shall apply to the Operations Department for a Municipal Lands Occupancy Permit for the proposed work.
To obtain a Municipal Lands Occupany Permit Application, please contact Operations Department.
For moving heavy vehicles on municipal highways in excess of dimensional limits or weights prescribed, an annual Moving Heavy Vehicle Permit must be obtained.
Municipal Lands Occupancy Permit for Moving Heavy Vehicles on Municipal Highways in Excess of Dimensional Limits or Weights Application Form, For additional information please contact the Operations Department.
The Town Manager of Roads and Drainage or his or her designate, shall have the authority to place or remove any or all reduced load signs at his or her sole discretion, on the following roads pursuant to By-law No. 2010-54.
Axle Weight Restrictions will be in effect when Axle Weight Restriction signs are in place, as determined by the Manager of Roads and Drainage.
2021 Axle Weight Restrictions Map
Axle Weight Exemption Application Form
For more information or if you have any questions please contact:
Manager of Roads and Drainage
519-599-3131 x 271
Canada Post Rural Mailbox Guidelines and Specifications
Ensure that prior to placing a mailbox within the Town Road Allowance that the location of the mailbox will not interfere with Town maintenance activities. Follow the Mailbox Location Process for mailbox placement.
Streetlights need to be repaired if they are:
- Out (not working at night)
- On during the day
- Broken or damaged
- Continually turning on and off
If you would like to report a streetlight in need of repair, please contact the Operations Department to let us know.
We will require the location of the light (closest property address).
Please allow two to three weeks for repair.
Town By-law No. 2014-65 indicates that no person shall deposit snow or ice on a roadway, including those portions of the highway commonly referred to as the shoulder, sidewalk, walkway, pathway, boulevard or ditch.
Town By-law No. 2003-11 prohibits overnight parking on Town streets from November 1st to April 1st from 2:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m.
The Town's Roads Division is responsible for winter road maintenance on roads assumed by the Town which includes plowing, sanding and salting operations. The Roads Division works diligently to clear snow and ice quickly from the roadways. To stay up to date on the latest winter road maintenance conditions, visit the Newsroom and sign up to receive news updates on winter road maintenance via email.
For information regarding Sidewalk Winter Maintenance and Roads Winter Maintenance (Plowing and Spreading) please visit the following link: Winter Maintenance - Plowing, Spreading and Sidewalks
Should you have a speeding or other vehicle related concern, please visit the Ontario Provincial Police website. Their Report Online tool allows you to report minor occurrences such as driving complaints from your computer or mobile device without going to an OPP detachment. You may also call their non-emergency line at 1-888-310-1122.
To address the short, medium and long-term transportation needs of the Town’s transportation infrastructure, the Town is developing a Transportation Master Plan. To learn more about the Transportation Master Plan project and to get involved, visit: https://yourview.thebluemountains.ca/transportation-master-plan
Manager of Roads & Drainage
519-599-3131 x271
Operations Department
519-599-3131 x276
