Ward 2 residents demand answers about bridge plans as demolition of derelict homes begins

Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens gave a flood presentation at a Ward 2 meeting Tuesday night, blocks away from where dilapidated properties owned by the bridge company were being demolished.

Dilkens said he wanted to "arm" residents "with the facts," before delivering the city's 'sewer master plan' and an eight-point plan to deal with future floods.

The Ward 2 area had the second lowest amount of flooded homes in Windsor, said Dilkens, and the city reports that 6,617 basements were flooded in the August 29 downpour. The flooding cost the city more than $175 million dollars in damage.

Dilkens said the city has spent about a half of a billion dollars since 2001 on its sewer systems but that no system in Canada or the U.S. could handle that amount of water in that amount of time. 

But most of the hundred or so residents who attended the meeting wanted to know about the bridge plans. 

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"Now the bridge company is going to come in and tear a part of Olde Sandwich Towne down that has a lot of history is concerning," said Sandwich resident Francisco Smith. "There's nothing we can do, it's going to happen unfortunately." 

The city received requests for demolition permits from the bridge company to tear down 33 vacant homes in the Indian Road area, and demolition on at least one of those properties began Tuesday.

Many city officials were on hand to discuss the issue with residents, and the mayor stayed to address those concerns as well.

Dilkens said he committed to the residents to put a question and answer information page on the city's website to inform the residents about what is going to happen with the land.

"Sewer discussion was not really on the table tonight," he said.