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Pan of the problem is recent govcmnwm stimulus funds went to “shawl ready” proj- ects» rather than those most in need ofatten- don. says Saved Mina. meessor emeritus of engineering at McGill University. “The stimutus (prom'am) was to create jobs. not to spend money where we he said. "Our Infrastructure is 'in very dim straits and we need to act mgemly." In Huntsville, when more than $100 mil- lion flawed in funding for the Ga summit and {Moral-provincial stimulus. no assistance was available to renovate several small com- munity balls to make them handicapped accessible. The balance of Ontario's Vinfra'strucmm is now of an agcwhcm it needs replacement or Sinkholes are more common. opening huge gaps in roadways Mien broken undet- gmund pipes collapse or me surface gives out. Severe weather and crumbling storm drainage systems make ccnain oldet neigh~ bourhoods across Ontario more vulnerable to basement floodingr structure mpairs and upgrades; 0 Mississauga. which hasn't had to borrow since 1978. projects $446 million id debt over the next lOyears‘ Brampton. debt free at the moment. expects to Stan incurring debt as wly as 2012; ‘ In Durham, traffic on a badly deteriorah ing heritage brag: has been curtailed until funding is found. O Almost half ate carry'mg debt loads in excess of $600 per reshent. The consequences are significant. mm. more than 1.000 homes an: entering the sixth year of a boil water advi- wlyaftetNiagara Regiondecidedagainstme Sim-million cast of connecting the commu- nity to Port Colbome's water system. To dose the local infrastructure gap. every Toronto resident would have to pay more manflnmemtmhlspropenymbfll. In Prince Edward County and Perth. the figure is closer to $2.000. In Hamilton. finds that are to be resurfaced within 35 years are now on a llflygarcycle. METROLAND SPECIAL REPORT: Road maintenance and resurfacing is getting done less often. York residents carrying 2nd-highest debt per capita ‘Our infrastructure is in very dire straits and we need to art urgauly; From 3* 1.. But then: is no corresponding ofiet by the pmvincc. m Ottawa. to be] specifically with the costs of everything at! those new ML dents will need. The fast-9min population will require larger public but lugs. better transit and new schools The province’s Places to Grow plan sets ambitious population ta for the mgion's municipalities and guide. inm on constructing efficient. compact communi- ties. But it's about to get worse because the population of the Greater Golden Horseshoe aloneisgmwingfi'om annuionjxmfivcycam ago to l 1.5 million by 2031. That means you're pmbabiy going to have to add an extra floor to the house on top ofeveryming else. “There are itally harsh. stark realities coming soon." said Pat Vanini. executive director of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario. ' You're mute concerned about making mortgage payments. but you can’t be sure there will still be paycheques coming next year. You're taking out bans, using your line of cmdh and maxim out credi! cards to pay for what you know you need. . The roof needs reshingling, the electrical system no longer meets standards and the furnace is onits last legs; Forget about the fact the bathroom hasn't been redone since the 19705 and that you'd like to replace the previous owners' shag carpeting with hard- That's the situation most municipalities find thean in today. repair. About 60 per cent of roads. water and other systems are more than 50 years old. Almost a third of the province‘s infrastructure is more than 90 years old. Almost every community has a Centen- nial bonding of some kind. a library manna. built in a massive construction boom dur- ing Canada‘s 1967 celebrations. About 2.500 such buildings are now in need of â€"â€" but not funded for â€"â€" repairs "Ontario was your house. it would be on the ryerge of apan. - Guelph is a good example of what that means. About 40 per cent of the city's $1.3 billion worth of infrastructure is at. the end of its life cycle. CONCRETE ‘ PROBLEMS A “ENGLAND MEDIA SPECIM. IUD" Howtoflchnnflhghhsum PNOYO IV SCOT? TIACEYMEY‘IOLANO CONCRETE PROBLEMS D vaimew'tde spending on 1,400 munkipal ptojetts item a“ thtee {was of government tutatled abom$3.4biléonovmhelasttwoyeats. v Thisinduded the $1.85 biliion (split between Mano and Ottawa) doled out in Ontario though the htmtmcture stintdus fund (mom-r invest- ments Included $408 million mm thccommuni- tiescomponcm ofthe budding (amda fund andthe mutational infrastnnute Canada (RING fund that INFBAflRlICTUHE SPENDING 'mnmmmmmnmn Thwuofmc MNWNIMM anmaumum - manu- mdwfihmdthcmmmm la MWWM‘ “to. minimum» mmwu‘NMmssznw mmm maximum-minim! Thuchm Mama“ mm m allowed for $500 million of renovations at horkey arenas and other recreational facimies across the country. D To quality for the lSfiprojefls had to be “hard” infrastructure (roads, pipes, water treatment facMr~ ties, etc.) and be ‘slmel ready’.‘ "rough the fund was not finalized until mid-2009, projcns were supposed m be complete by March 201 1, a deadline mar has since been extended to anber.