The controversy over horse manure on townships roads isn’t dropping off anytime soon. Instead, Wellesley council plans to find out how residents like them road apples … or not.
The issue broke out again last month when Linwood resident Dave Bax raised several concerns about horse droppings on public roads to the township’s planning and bylaw enforcement departments. A discussion ensued after he appeared at council in February, with staff asked to look at options.
At a council meeting Tuesday night, staff recommended against the use of manure catchers or a bylaw demanding buggy users pick up after their horse while driving on a public road.
Instead, Coun. Jim Olender will be holding a meeting for both the residents of Linwood who are interested in pursuing the issue, and members of the community who use horse-drawn buggies as a means of transportation, to “better relations” between the two parties.
The issue began when Bax approached council last month, noting that some members of the Linwood community were concerned that the droppings created danger for drivers from debris on the roadway, as well as possibly spreading disease. He also argued the accumulation of manure on roads could cause additional maintenance costs over time, adding people have a civic responsibility to clean up after themselves. He called on the township to pass and enforce a bylaw requiring horse users to pick up after their horses on public roads and in private buggy parking facilities.
The township responded by refuting many of Bax’s concerns. Staff explained that the Region of Waterloo will be incorporating horse-drawn buggies into the updated transportation plan, which will emphasize road sharing with all users.
On the issue of users stopping to pick up horse droppings, the township explained that this process would be very cumbersome for operators and also potentially dangerous to the drivers of the buggies and also nearby cars if the horse were to run away during the process. The report from the township also dismissed Bax’s suggestion horses be outfitted with manure catchers, noting this too was cumbersome for the horse and would not constitute an appropriate solution.
The township will be looking for public input as the next step. A time and location has not yet been set for that meeting.
