From CFRA:
Susan Edmondson told CFRA over the years the culvert running under her driveway on Cloverloft Court has caused it to buckle.
“Obviously because of the hump here it was down. The grass came over it,” she said pointing to the damage on her driveway. “It slowly raised itself up and now we can take the bottom out of the car. In the winter it’s really, really bad. It’s thrown us almost into the ditch.”
Two houses across the street are experiencing the same problem.
It’s an issue Edmondson and her husband have had in the past and pre-amalgamation, Goulbourn Township came and fixed the problem.
“But after amalgamation … [the City] took down a great big tree over there because it was on their property, the easement and they suggest they’re responsible for it,” said Edmondson. “If they’re responsible for taking out a massive spruce tree and digging out a massive, massive stump, then they’re responsible for this also.”
However, the City of Ottawa says that’s not the case, thanks to “The Use of Private Approaches” Bylaw enacted in 2003, which puts the upkeep of any private access way on city property squarely on the shoulders of the home owner.
Stittsville Councillor Shad Qadri has visited the property.
“The culvert and asphalt are the responsibility of the abutting homeowner,” he said. “The only time the City would get involved in terms of repair or replacing it, is when the City does ditch maintenance for proper drainage.”
Sounds to me like the city’s inferior culvert installation is the culprit, and they need to fix the trouble they caused. Why should the homeowner pay? It’s not their fault.
Sounds like the city is shirking their responsibility. Presumably, this homeowner has paid her taxes…