An Orillia resident who says her street address is confusing is hoping the city will finally act following what could have been a deadly situation.
Leanne Anderson, who is allergic to bees, was stung by multiple hornets on garbage day two weeks ago and called emergency services amid fears of going into anaphylaxis. Due to her address, however, she says emergency services had a difficult time finding her.
The ambulance’s arrival was delayed by more than five minutes, and may have been longer had a city garbage truck driver – who was stung several times himself – not rushed to flag them down, she explained.
Although Anderson avoided an anaphylactic reaction that day, she fears she may not be so lucky in the future.
Anderson is a resident of 184 Coldwater Rd., in a group of several houses located beyond the western edge of Brant Street West, but before the intersection with Coldwater Road, proper.
Where Brant Street West intersects with Park Street, it becomes Coldwater Road, although it appears to be a continuation of Brant Street West.
A private townhome development, located at 188 Coldwater Rd., lies between Anderson’s home and Coldwater Road, with access blocked by a private gate.
For Anderson and several residents along this stretch, Coldwater Road is most easily accessed by backtracking through Brant Street West and Patrick Street, and their homes appear to be a part of Brant Street West.
Apple Maps lists the small stretch of road as a continuation of Brant Street West.
“It shouldn't be Coldwater. It should be Brant Street West,” Anderson said. “It's an obvious risk to public safety.”
Anderson heard the ambulance circling the area, trying to find her.
“The garbage guy, I said to him, ‘They can't find me because they're on Coldwater,’ and he ran down and all of a sudden two paramedics came up with the stretcher.”
When Anderson purchased her home in 2016, she said she reached out to the city about the confusing address of her home.
“I realized quickly that it was going to be a problem, and I called the city in 2017… (and) they wrote a letter and they agreed with me that it was a problem,” she said.
The city reached out to affected residents for input on an address change, but did not receive a response.
“In 2017, the city requested input from the property owners of the residential lots accessed from the private right-of-way as to whether these property owners would be interested in having their addresses changed. No response to this inquiry was ever received,” City of Orillia senior planner Jeff Duggan said in a statement.
Anderson has reached out to her Ward 3 council representative about the issue as well.
Coun. Jay Fallis rents his home along the same stretch of road, and his parents own property there as well.
However, Fallis did not assist with the request as he viewed his personal associations with the road as a conflict of interest.
“I spoke with him twice about it,” Anderson said. “He said to me, ‘Well, that's a conflict.’ I'm not asking you for anything. You're a neighbour. I want you to consent.”
Fallis contacted the city’s integrity commissioner on the issue, who he said agreed getting involved would pose a conflict of interest.
“It's a direct relationship with my parents, and their property (is) directly impacted by it,” Fallis said. “They confirmed I can't get involved in the matter.... I can't direct them what to do or advocate on their behalf because of the issue with my parents there.”
That said, Fallis encouraged the affected residents to reach out to another member of council.
“I’m always willing to help out on any matter, but I’m unable in this circumstance,” he said. “This was an awful situation that should not have happened.”
The city told Anderson to fill out a form requesting an address change, at a charge of $150, as the change was not going to come via neighbourhood consent.
“I made the complaint in 2017, and now they're kind of looking at me going well, where's your 150 bucks? It's not even about that,” Anderson said. “Somebody's life could be in jeopardy and they're gonna go back now to their books.
“The city is not concerned whatsoever about the tragedy that could occur.”
To highlight the issues with her address further, Anderson recalled an instance where she received a parking ticket from a city bylaw officer, but with the wrong address.
“I got the ticket for being parked in my driveway. I had one tire on the road. Someone called the bylaw office, and they came right down and gave me a ticket, and the ticket said on it, 188 Brant St.,” Anderson said. “I sent it to the city and I said, ‘If your bylaw officers are confused, what is an ambulance going to do?’”
Duggan said city staff have alerted emergency services about the issue.
“The Orillia Fire Department is aware of the addressing at this area and has not had any safety issues with accessing it,” he said. “The planning division is reaching out to other emergency services to ensure they are aware of the addressing as well.”
He explained the road is addressed the way it is due to its history as a private right-of-way.
“The stretch of road referred to is not a municipal road. It is a private right-of-way used for access to and from the condominium development at 188 Coldwater Rd. and three residential lots,” he said.
“Prior to the condominium development, this section of road was a driveway accessed off of Brant Street and not part of a municipal road. The municipal road frontage was, and still is, Coldwater Road, which is why these properties were historically addressed as Coldwater Road.”
Due to issues generated by address changes, Duggan said the city typically does not change addresses without consent from property owners.
“There is a considerable amount of effort on the part of property owners to update their personal documents further to an address change and to have different street addresses for the three properties could also be potentially confusing,” he said.
Duggan said residents who wish for an address change may complete a Municipal Address Change Request Form.
“Once the form is completed, the request can be emailed to [email protected],” he said. “Residents with questions about this process can also contact the city’s planning division at 705-325-1870 or [email protected].”
