Scugog preparing to repair high-traffic roads in the downtown following a harsh winter

At the March 23 Council Meeting, Scugog Council approved the Public Works and Recreation Department’s plan to utilize unallocated Roads Levy Reserve funds to rehabilitate select portions of local roads in the Port Perry urban area. 

The 2025/26 winter season has proven to be extremely harsh on the roads with 56 combined plowing and salt/sanding events, as well as fluctuating temperatures causing a long freeze and thaw cycle that has contributed to more deterioration of high-travelled roads than typical for this time of year.

To achieve the necessary repairs, Public Works staff have developed a triage plan to rehabilitate additional sections of local roads that many residents travel daily for access to schools, shopping, and other service areas as well as supporting a section of our industrial park. The estimated cost of the additional repairs which includes removing existing asphalt, repairing soft spots in the granular base, adjusting and resetting structures (e.g. catchbasins and maintenance holes), and repaving will be $752,675. This will be on top of the forecasted $9.3 million in committed projects, 73% of which are slated to begin in 2026. The funding for these additional projects will come from the Roads Levy Reserve, currently sitting at over $795,000.

The identified roads are:

• Allan Street (Sexton to Lorne Street): 0.199km
• Alma Street (Old Simcoe Road to Pine Point Court): 0.223km
• Balsam Street (Simcoe to Cochrane Street): 0.231
• MacDonald Street (Cochrane to Simcoe Street): 0.227km
• Rosa Street (MacDonald to Paxton Street): 0.148km
• Paxton Street (Simcoe to Perry Street): 0.089km
• Casimir Street (Simcoe to Perry Street): 0.312km
• Cawkers Cove Road (Castle Harbour Drive to Stone Sound Road): 0.697km
• Clark Street (Crandle to Simcoe Street): 0.115km
• Elgin Street (Crandle to Simcoe Street): 0.119km
• Taylor Boulevard (North Port Road to East End Turnaround): 0.377km

Total: 2.737km

The rationale used to identify the candidate roads are based on the following criteria:

• Roads that Durham Region does not have plans to repair or replace underground infrastructure in their capital program or in the foreseeable future e.g., watermain and sanitary sewers.
• The Roads Needs Study describes each road segment as being in very poor condition.
• Many of these roads were not constructed to industry standards and are failing
• Most of the chosen roads are also in close proximity, which will reduce mobilization/demobilization and material transportation costs in order to use the available budget as effectively as possible.

Reminder that these roads are additional projects funded by the Road Levy Reserve, and that numerous other road resurfacing/rehabilitation projects are set to begin in 2026. A full list of projects can be found through our 2026 Consolidated Budget.

“Road rehabilitation is a constant process in the Township of Scugog, with many roads requiring repair at any given time,” said Grant Taylor, Director of Public Works and Recreation. “This project was designed to repair a group of close-proximity roads identified in the State of the Infrastructure report to cut down on mobilization and transportation costs and address roads in very poor condition. We will continue to invest in our roads and search for efficiencies like this one to keep costs as low as we can.”

Frequently Asked Questions

• Why are you fixing this road when that road appears to be in worse condition?
  • Road repairs are identified through a number of factors including the most recent State of the Infrastructure report. Factors include the current condition of the road and its lifecycle, condition of infrastructure under the road, traffic volume, and other projects taking place in the vicinity.
    
    All of these factors are very important in determining which road is repaired when, and any road that has been selected for repair was tested against other roads for every factor.
• Why are you focusing on Port Perry roads and not all of Scugog?
  • The roads included in this triage project were selected specifically for their close proximity to one another, which will cut down mobilization/demobilization costs and ensure the roads can be repaired in a cost-effective manner. There are multiple roads outside of Port Perry that are forecasted for repair; these can be found in our 2026 Consolidated Budget.

• Why don’t you just repave all the roads?
  • Paving is very costly and time consuming. Budget-wise, we would need to significantly cut down on services offered in order to foot the bill, and timewise there is only a certain window where weather conditions are favourable for this type of construction. Because of both factors, we are limited on how many repairs can be taken on in any given year.

• Why bother filling potholes if they aren’t going to stay filled?
  • The Province of Ontario has road standards that must be met in order to be considered safe to drive on. Since we can’t repair every road at once, temporary fixes are necessary to keep the roads in good enough condition to meet these standards.
    
    Hot-mix asphalt is used in the warmer months; however, it is not available at this time of year. As a substitute, cold mix asphalt is being used so we can keep up with the standard. While cold mix does not stay in the pothole as long as hot mix asphalt, it is a necessary action during the transition from winter to spring.

• When is the next State of the Infrastructure report?
  • The next State of the Infrastructure report will be taking place later this year, 2026.

If you are looking to submit an inquiry about your road, you can do so through our MyScugogConnected Customer Service Portal. Specific questions can be directed to works@scugog.ca or 905-985-7346.

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Media Contact: Communications and Strategic Projects, Township of Scugog
905.985.7346, media@scugog.ca

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