FAQs

The City of Cambridge is proposing to reconstruct the following streets in 2025 subject to budget approval.

• Ramore Street from Gilholm Avenue to Cedar Street 
• Gilholm Avenue from Ramore Street to St. Andrews Street

The reconstruction work will involve replacing the sanitary sewer, storm sewer, watermain, curb and gutter, road and sidewalk. Sanitary and water services will also be replaced to property line.

Ramore Street from Gilholm Avenue to Cedar Street

Yes. The complete roadway including curbs, boulevards, and sidewalks will be reconstructed. The width of the existing asphalt surface is approximately 5.0 m to 5.7 m from Gilholm Avenue to Cedar Street. The width of the existing sidewalk on both sides of the road is approximately 1.2 m. The sidewalk on the east side is located immediately behind the curb. The sidewalk on the west side is separated from the curb with a 0.5 m wide grass boulevard. It is noted that the sidewalk on the east side of Ramore Street does not extend all the way north to Fraser Street. The existing sidewalk ends just past Gilholm Avenue at 7 Ramore Street.

The existing roadway width is sub-standard and will be increased to 6.0 m wide.

In order to meet the requirements of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), sidewalk widths must be increased to a minimum width of 1.5 m. However, due to the constrained width of the corridor, and the need to widen the roadway to 6.0 m wide, 1.5 m wide sidewalks cannot fit on both sides of Ramore Street within the existing right-of-way without significant impact to trees, retaining walls and other landscaping features.

The proposed layout for Ramore Street includes permanent removal of the sidewalk on the east side of the street, and installation of a 1.5 m wide sidewalk on the west side only with a 0.5 m wide grass boulevard between the concrete curb and the sidewalk.

Topsoil and sod will be placed behind the new curb on the east side of the street and existing driveways and walkways will be extended to meet the new curb location.

The existing loose-stone retaining walls on the west side of Ramore Street near Cedar Street are in poor condition and will be replaced as part of this project. The existing armour stone retaining walls on the west side are in good condition and shall remain.

Gilholm Avenue from Ramore Street to St. Andrews Street

Yes. The complete roadway including curbs and sidewalks will be reconstructed. The width of existing asphalt surface is approximately 6.6 m from Ramore Street to St. Andrews Street. The width of the existing sidewalk on the south side of the road is approximately 1.2 m. The existing sidewalk is located immediately behind the curb.

The width of proposed sidewalk will be increased to 1.5 m on the south side as per the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). A 0.5 m wide grass boulevard is proposed between the concrete curb and new sidewalk. The sidewalk widening and addition of 0.5 m grass boulevard will be achieved by reducing the width of the asphalt roadway and shifting the curb on the north side of the road closer to private property in some areas. The proposed asphalt roadway width will be reduced to 6.0 m.

The existing stone-and-mortar retaining wall on the north side of Gilholm Avenue near Ramore Street is in poor condition and will be removed and replaced as part of this project. The retaining wall will also likely be extended further west up to the existing concrete staircase for No. 2-12 Gilholm Avenue.

The City of Cambridge upgrades infrastructure each year in order that aged facilities are replaced prior to there being a complete failure or the cost of maintenance becomes exorbitant.

The existing watermain, storm sewers and sanitary sewers will be replaced due to age and deterioration. All service laterals will be replaced to the property line. Reconstruction of the road and concrete surface works is necessary due to deterioration and reconstruction of the underground services.

All water service laterals for single family homes will be replaced with 25 mm diameter polyethylene pipe from the watermain to property line and all sanitary service laterals will be replaced with 100 mm diameter PVC pipe from the sewer main to property line.

Any property owner wishing to have new (additional) or larger sized services must make a written application to the City of Cambridge. Any new or upgraded service will be at the expense of the property owner making the request. Should you require a new or upgraded service, please contact Scott MacDonald of the Community Development Department at 519-623-1340 ext. 4679 so that your requirements can be incorporated as part of the construction.

Please note that the service installed would be to the property line only. Any work on private property would be the responsibility of the property owner who must obtain a permit under the Plumbing Code from the City’s Building Department.

Construction is expected to take place in 2025 subject to budget approval.

A private contractor selected through the City’s public tender process will undertake the work.  

During road reconstruction, it will be necessary to close the road to through traffic. Access to private property will be possible most of the time during construction, but it will be at your own risk, as you will be traveling through a construction zone. For times you do not have access to your property, or if you do not wish to travel through the construction zone, alternate arrangements should be made for parking. Overnight parking will be permitted on intersecting streets within one block of the reconstruction but you must abide by all other existing parking restrictions (i.e. don’t block a driveway, don’t park too close to a fire hydrant, don’t park where parking is prohibited, etc.).

To minimize disruption to pedestrians, the construction crew will:

• Maintain the existing sidewalk until its removal is absolutely necessary
• Provide a temporary gravel sidewalk between removal of the old and placement of the new sidewalk
• Whenever possible, provide advanced notice to the property owners and residents whose sidewalk or driveway will be temporarily affected

Sewer and water service will be maintained throughout the duration of construction. However, short interruptions can be expected, particularly when the services to individual properties are transferred from existing mains to the new mains. In the majority of cases, interruptions will be limited to a few hours and will occur during normal working hours.

Advance notification will be provided where possible prior to any planned service interruption. During watermain reconstruction, a temporary above ground watermain will be installed. Each property will be connected to the temporary watermain. Access onto your property may be required to provide the temporary connection.

One issue of critical importance to the City of Cambridge is to have the work completed while minimizing disruption to the neighbourhood. Road reconstruction and underground servicing is disruptive and at times will create noise, vibration due to compaction and a potential for dust. To address these disruptions, water and calcium chloride are used for dust control and construction activity is limited to daylight hours after 7:00 a.m. 

On some reconstruction projects we find that residents have constructed gardens, shrubs, hedges, and fences within the City road allowance. If existing services are below that particular feature, or there is a grade change, or if the location of the sidewalk changes, you will be asked to relocate the garden, hedge etc. onto your property prior to construction taking place. 

When reconstructing the sidewalk, it may be necessary to cut back some driveways to match the new grade. If this is the case, the driveway will be saw-cut and a patch placed using the same material if possible. Impressed or coloured concrete driveways, as well as paving stone driveways, cannot be replaced to match the original (unless the owner has a supply of matching stones that the contractor could use). 

If you have a sprinkler system installed along the edge of the roadway or sidewalk within the City’s road allowance, you will need to remove the piping prior to construction as the contractor will not be responsible for damage and the City will not replace it. You may have it reinstalled on private property after construction is completed, if you wish.

Blue box, green box and refuse collection will be maintained throughout the duration of construction. When access is restricted by construction operations, the construction crew will place the various containers at a location accessible by the collection service on collection days. To minimize problems during construction, it would be appreciated if all refuse is bagged – yard waste in paper bags, household garbage in plastic bags.  Please ensure that your address is clearly marked on containers/ blue boxes.

The City of Cambridge recognizes that reconstruction will cause inconvenience to the residents and businesses in the area and requests your cooperation, understanding and patience throughout its duration. Comments can be provided to the City through the survey on the bottom of this project page. 

In addition to your comments, other information we would like to receive from residents or institutions are your special needs, e.g. for persons with disabilities, water or sewer service improvements or driveway modifications. This written record will assist the City to address all the issues related to the reconstruction.