'No resting in peace:' Brantford resident concerned about plans for 4-lane road through cemetery

Kelly Donovan bought a plot at Oakhill Cemetery in Brantford with hopes of spending eternity close to the people she loved, but plans for a four-lane road that could run through it have her fearing her final resting place won't be a peaceful one.

Donovan's grandfather was buried in the graveyard on Jennings Road in 2001. Her mother was placed there three years later.

So, in 2005, the 41-year-old arranged for a grave site a short distance away, attracted by a sense of tranquillity and nearness to nature.

"There would always be wildlife coming through the cemetery. It's always been beautiful out there," she said.

Then she learned that peace and quiet could be disrupted by the Oak Park Road Extension.

The 2019 feasibility study for the project shows all five of the proposed routes, meant to ease congestion and support future development, bisect the road that currently connects Oakhill's front entrance with the rest of the cemetery.

A mock-up of the preferred option shows traffic running along the treeline that currently separates the bulk of the burial ground from a farmer's field.

Some of the potential plans call for tunnels that would allow visitors to pass under the road to access the graves.

Brantford 'sensitive' to cemetery concerns

The city's web page for the project states the roadway will shuttle an estimated 12,400 vehicles between the intersection of Kramer's Way and Hardy Road and Colborne Street West each day by 2041.

It also acknowledges that serving several thousand vehicles a year "is expected to increase noise levels," and an ongoing study will look for ways to reduce the racket.

However, Donovan said she isn't keen on the idea of spending forever next to four lanes of traffic.

"When I was in there purchasing my plot, at no time was it ever disclosed to me that there were future plans to do this highway," she said.

"The bottom line is, we would have never chosen it. We would have just kept looking and found another nice cemetery that's in a nice, peaceful place that would never be disturbed."

Brantord's current official plan predicts the city's population will balloon to 165,000 residents by 2051, compared to the approximately 100,000 people who live there today.

The city maintains that the road has been part of the city's transportation master plan for decades, as well as the Oak Hill Cemetery Master Plan which was written in 1990, before the cemetery was even created.

"The city takes the concerns of our residents very seriously, and we are especially sensitive to families who have an association with the Oakhill Cemetery," wrote Brantford spokesperson Maria Visocchi in a statement to CBC.

The city owns the cemetery, and making sure families are able to safely access it is a "key priority and major consideration" of the environmental assessment that's currently underway, she said.

No plans or budget for the project will be finalized until that assessment is completed.

"I can also confirm that there are no existing grave sites nor future plots that would be impacted with any alignment in the vicinity of the Cemetery," Visocchi said.

Project has opposition

Still, Donovan isn't taking the plans for the roadway lying down — and she's not alone.

A video she recorded while walking through the graveyard and titled "No Resting in Peace for Those Interned at Oakhill Cemetery" has been shared more than 500 times on social media. A Facebook page called Oak Park Road Extension Opposition Group has nearly 1,000 members.

"I entered into a contract with the City of Brantford so that would be my final, peaceful resting place, and now I feel they're not fulfilling their end of the bargain." she said, adding she believes there are alternative routes that would avoid disrupting the cemetery.

Donovan knows she could just find another plot at a different cemetery, but that would mean separating from her family members already buried there.

"The thought of not being close to my mom devastates me," she said, fighting back tears.

Brantford held a virtual public information session to provide an overview of the project in November.

A two-week question period where people can submit feedback ends on Dec. 11 at 3 p.m.