Public Works FAQs

Who is responsible for the culvert in my driveway?

New culvert installation is completed by the homeowner. It is the responsibility of the homeowner to purchase the pipe and have it installed to the Town standards. Once installed and approved, the Town assumes ownership and maintenance of the entrance and culvert.

If a culvert fails due to natural causes, the Town will replace the culvert. During a road reconstruction or rehabilitation project the Town will reinstate existing entrances that have been affected by the road works.

Why does the Town clean or cut vegetation in roadside ditches?

We have an annual ditching program to deal with drainage improvements. If the roadside ditch is a municipal drain, it is under the jurisdiction of the local municipality. Vegetation is cut along public roads to maintain visibility; however we do not clear vegetation for aesthetic purposes or at private driveways.

Why does the Town only clear certain roadside ditches of snow in the spring?

Roadside ditches are cleared at the outlet end of the ditch system to provide positive drainage for the spring melt. Municipal crews prioritize known critical areas and attempt to minimize the risk of flooding. The clearing operations are not designed to drain all ditches of spring melt water.

Who do I contact if a proposed driveway entrance abuts a District Municipality of Muskoka or Ministry of Transportation (MTO) road in the town of Bracebridge? 

If your proposed driveway abuts a District road (Beaumont Drive, Bonnie Lake Road, Cedar Lane, Ecclestone Drive, Entrance Drive, Fraserburg Road, Golden Beach Road, High Falls Road, Muskoka Road 117, Muskoka Road 118 West, Manitoba Street, Monck Road, Muskoka Beach Road, Raymond Road, Santa's Village Road, Taylor Road, Uffington Road and Wellington Street), please visit District Road Permits and Applications.

If your proposed driveway abuts a MTO road such as provincial Highway 11 or Highway 118 (east), please visit Highway Corridor Management.

Why does the Town regulate the location of my driveway?

The Town regulates the location of driveway for two (2) major reasons, safety and on-street parking. The authority to regulate a driveway or entrance is given to a municipality by the Municipal Act as follows:

"A municipality may restrict, as well as remove, the common law right of passage by the public over a road and the common law right of access to a road by an owner of land abutting a highway"

Where can I get a 911 property identification number?

Contact Rebecca Tickle, Planning Technician with the Planning and Development Department. 

For more information, please visit the Signs section of Applications, Licences and Permits.

When do I need a Driveway Entrance Permit?

A driveway entrance permit must be obtained for any works done to a driveway entrance that affects the Town-owned roadway. These works include the installation, relocation, re-design and paving of an entrance including the installation of a new culvert. 

When do I need a Roadway Occupancy Permit?

A permit is required when any work is proposed to be performed within the right-of-way of a Town road. The right-of-way includes the asphalt or gravel roadway surface, gravel or paved shoulders, sidewalks, curb and open ditches.

When do I need an Oversize / Overweight Load Permit?

A permit is required for commercial vehicles to carry a load larger or heavier than the maximum limits established in the Highway Traffic Act. Approval is only given for roads under the jurisdiction of the Town of Bracebridge. Depending on the route, approval may also be required from the Ministry of Transportation, the District Municipality of Muskoka and/or other local municipalities.

For permit applications and guidelines, please visit Applications, Licences and Permits 

What is a pot hole?

A pot hole is a type of failure in a road surface that typically is caused by a combination of traffic and water saturating the soil material under the road.

On a paved road during a freeze thaw cycle, the water will expand causing the road to crack. This then allows more water to enter the base material causing further loss of material. Eventually, the asphalt layer over these divots collapses, creating potholes. Similarly, a gravel road may become saturated with water and as vehicles travel over the surface the finer materials in the gravel are lost allowing a pot hole to develop.

Should you notice a pothole that needs immediate attention, please contact the Public Works Department at 705-645-5264 ext. 3650 providing the following information to assist crews in locating the pothole:

• Name of street
• Direction and lane (i.e., northbound, right lane)
• Address of the closest building to pothole
• Cross street information, if available
• Size of pothole

Who is responsible for repairing pot holes?

The responsibility to ensure roads are in a good state of repair is shared between the Province of Ontario, the District Municipality of Muskoka and the Town. Roads are classified (Class 1 to 5) based on traffic volumes and speed. Each class of road has a specified number of days in which to make repairs.

Submitting a pot hole claim?

When making a claim against the Town for pothole damages, it is important to note that the Town will not be responsible for your property damage if it has met the Provincial "Minimum Maintenance Standards for Municipal Highways" (MMS), Ontario Regulation 239/02: MINIMUM MAINTENANCE STANDARDS FOR MUNICIPAL HIGHWAYS, as amended by Ontario Regulation 366/18.

You are required to submit a claim within 10 days of the date of the incident.

What if your claim is denied?

If records show that MMS service levels were met, your claim will be denied. The Town will outline the results of the investigation in a letter and provide you with the report that justifies the denial.

It is important to know that the majority of property damage claims made against the Town of Bracebridge are denied as the Town regularly meets or exceeds the standard levels of service.

For more information regarding the claims process, please contact the Director of Finance/Treasurer, Paul Judson at 705-645-5264 ext. 3300.

Will the municipality assume a private road?

The municipality has a policy that a road will not be assumed until it is constructed to a municipal standard that allows for the safe use of the road by the public and by our municipal roads equipment. In addition to this, Town Council will also consider if the road serves a public interest, and if the future tax revenue justifies the ongoing road maintenance cost.

What is the process for re-surfacing a road?

Road re-surfacing is a 3-step process:

• Ditching and Culverts

In preparation for road re-surfacing, ditching and the installation of required or replacement of damaged culverts is completed before road work is started.

• Pulverization and Stabilization

Pulverizing is the removal of the asphalt surface of the road. This process requires eliminating twice the depth of the surface. For example, if removing a 2-inch asphalt surface, the contractor will pulverize to a 4-inch depth. Water is applied via a water truck where required. Then a layer of 3-inch to 6-inch of tested Granular 'A' gravel is applied to the entire pulverized road section. 

A 3.5 litres/m² of magnesium chloride is applied and pulverized into the Granular 'A' which creates the base stabilization of the road.

The road is then graded and packed with a steel-drum packer to a 3% crossfall and left to set for 7-10 days.

• Double-Surface Treatment

Double-Surface Treatment is the application of the riding surface of the road. The road is re-shaped with a grader, steel-drum packer and water truck to a 3% crossfall, once again.

A Distributor sprays emlusion on the one lane and aggregate is applied with a spreader followed by 2 rubber-tire rollers and a steel-drum roller. This process is repeated in the other lane. This process is repeated once again in both lanes once again.

Slurry Seal is applied the following year to seal the road surface.

When can I access my property on a seasonally-maintained road?

Seasonal road maintenance starts when the roads dry out sufficiently for our equipment to do basic repairs such as fix washouts, minor grading, etc. without causing road damage. This will depend on how much snow is on the ground in the spring, how much rain we receive, how the spring thaw develops and overnight freezing.

The first snowfall of the year and the gravel road has not been plowed. Why?

Gravel roads are plowed when the road surface is frozen. Plowing unfrozen gravel roads can be dangerous as the front "slusher" plow has a tendency to dig into the gravel surface bringing the truck to a very quick halting stop which can leave open cuts in the road surface OR throw the truck out of the travelled lane and into oncoming traffic. The plow can also loose unfrozen gravel into the ditch, wasting material.

I just removed the snow from my driveway left by the road plow, and now the sidewalk plow has deposited snow back onto it. Why can't the sidewalk plow and road plow come down my street at the same time?

The Town understands the frustration that this causes, unfortunately, due to the variations in the plow routes, the difference in the capability and speed of sidewalk plows vs. road plows, and the difference in priority routes, its near impossible to align the timing and scheduling of the sidewalk and road plowing operations.

What to do if your lawn is damaged by the snow plow?

Unfortunately, during winter maintenance operations, municipal equipment causes lawn damage. If damage occurs, please contact the Public Works Department at 705-645-5264 ext. 3650. Crews are deployed early in the spring to investigate and repair appropriate damaged areas by using topsoil and seed. Roadway damage caused by Town snow plow operations are listed and repaired in the spring. Boulevard repairs are normally done with topsoil and grass seed.

Why are snow removal crews working when it is not snowing?

Snow removal involves much more than simply plowing roads when there is a storm. Crews must also remove the snow so it does not impede with regular traffic, pedestrian, etc. Removal or reduction of snow banks is carried out when snow banks restrict sightlines, travel widths, pedestrian traffic or to relieve trapped water on the roadway or sidewalk and to create storage space for future snowfall.

Why do I see snow plows going down my street scraping roads when there isn't that much snow on the road?

As winter weather conditions fluctuate, we take advantage of milder temperature to return residential roads to bare pavement while limiting salt usage. We also remove the ruts which have already formed on the snow packed surface. This allows for a better surface to clear in the upcoming winter months. In addition, the clearing operation assists in keeping catch basins open to avoid flooding. If weather permits, we push snow banks back to curbs to provide more driving width on the roadway and storage place for snow along residential streets. In the long term, this may also help in reducing the cost of snow removal.

Why does the snow plow seem to dump a lot of snow on corner lots?

Residents living on corner lots usually have slightly more snow deposited in front of their houses as there is a larger portion of roadway that needs to be cleared at an intersection.

When will my street be swept?

The Town's Spring Street Sweeping Program starts between May 1st and May 31st and takes approximately 8-10 weeks to complete, weather permitting. Town streets and parking lots are cleaned removing sand deposited during winter maintenance and other debris.

The urban core are completed first. Street sweeping priorities are based on the volumes of traffic on roadways where winter road sand may generate excessive dust. Many of the rural area roads are also swept to eliminate the build-up of sand along the shoulders.

Sweeping generally consists of a two-part process as follows:

• A mechanical sweeper capable of picking up heavy sand deposits and debris makes a pass of the street, and
• A second pass of the street with a vacuum sweeper to remove any fine material that may remain. This may take up to a few days later to occur.

If the roads become too wet, the sand tends to get spread around appearing to be messy. The Town will not sweep in the rain for this very reason, but if the Town is commencing sweeping and it starts to rain, the sweeper will come back and re-sweep the area.

Spring street sweeping improves water quality and the environment by removing pollutants that can be transferred to downstream water bodies through urban runoff through the storm sewer system. The Street Sweeping Program also improves the cleanliness and aesthetics of Town streets and parking lots.​

How you can help

To help us provide the best service possible during street sweeping operations each year, please:

• do not push sand or leaves into piles on the road as the sweeper cannot pick them up, rather spread along the curb line to allow the equipment to collect it.
• minimize residential street parking during the spring sweeping program.
• ensure that basketball nets are not in the roadway.

If there are areas missed due to obstructions, operations staff will note and return at a later time. Concerns regarding missed areas can be reported by contacting publicworks@bracebridge.ca

How do I report about a tree or tree branches near or on utility lines?

If the tree is on Town property, please call the Public Works Department at 705-645-5264 ext. 3650.

If the tree is on private property, please contact the utility company directly. They will need the civic address or approximate location of the tree (i.e. nearest intersection or landmark) and your contact information.

Hydro Lines

Please call the utility company if a tree is interfering with hydro lines, poses a potential threat to human safety or meets any of these hazardous conditions: 

• the tree or branches are smoking, sparking or burning on a hydro line;
• the tree is an immediate hazard to the line (split, leaning, hanging over, uprooted); or
• the tree is leaning on a hydro pole.

Hydro One - 1-800-434-1235

Lakeland Power - 1-888-282-7711

Cable or Telephone Lines

Cable or telephone wires are easily confused with hydro lines. Branches touching the wires are not a hazard, but if the insulation is broken or damaged, service could be disrupted. Please call:

Bell (Damage Repair or Emergencies) 611

Cogeco (Technical Support) 1-855-701-4881