Public, Unassumed and Private

We share boundary roads with our neighbouring municipalities. Some of these roads are unassumed.

Each section of boundary road falls under a particular agreement with a neighbouring municipality. Residents on boundary roads should make themselves aware of which municipality is responsible for their particular section of road.

If you are unsure about municipal responsibility on a section of boundary road contact your nearest Municipal Service Centre.

Provincial Highways and their intersections with municipal roads are the responsibility of the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario, which usually tenders maintenance operations to private contractors. All provincial highways within the municipality are currently tendered to Emcon Services Inc., which can be reached at:

Emcon Services Inc. - Bancroft Division
6611 Highway 7,
Cavan Monaghan, Ontario
1-877-979-0998

There are four provincial highways with segments in Kawartha Lakes including:

• Highway 35
• Highway 115
• Highway 7A

• Highway 7

Publicly accessible road allowances owned by the municipality may be signed as Unassumed or Unimproved. These roads usually do not meet the minimum standards that the municipality considers acceptable for assumption. The municipality absolves itself of liability in connection to these roads.

The municipality may assume a previously unassumed or private road in the future provided the road meets the minimum standards outlined in the Assumption of Private and Unassumed Roads Policy CP2017-010. 

Seasonal level of service

You should review the requirements in the Seasonal Level of Service Policy and be aware that the road must meet the minimum standards before submitting an application. This Seasonal Level of Service Application is for unassumed roads only, we no longer accept applications for service on private roads. All applications require a Letter of Consent for their Designated Representative, naming the main contact for communications from the City.

City staff will inspect the road prior to approving or declining the application. The City will inform the applicant of any reasons that an application has been declined and provide opportunity to rectify any deficiencies for a second inspection where warranted.

Once annual inspections are completed, qualifying roads will receive seasonal service as defined in the Seasonal Level of Service Policy when time and resources permit.

There are currently no load restrictions in effect in the City of Kawartha Lakes.

Restrictions are typically put into place during the spring thaw, when road damage is most likely to occur due to heavy loading. This program identifies and imposes load restrictions on roads, or portions of roads that are weakened by excess water in the road base. Once the road has been determined to be structurally sound, load restrictions may be rescinded.

Load restriction periods are usually between October 1 and May 31 annually. Notices will be issued each year to define restriction periods based on seasonal weather conditions.

Many gravel roads are placed under a 5 tonnes-per-axle load restriction every spring. Signs are erected to notify road users of this restriction.

Load weight will be restricted on most secondary roads throughout the City in accordance with By-Law 2022-190, at the discretion of the Director of Public Works.

When fluctuating weather patterns are forecasted (warm weather and significant rain), the City imposes load restrictions to protect the integrity of the road network. Operations will monitor conditions and amend the notice as appropriate.

Due to changing weather patterns, the roads affected and the duration of the restricted period may change.

The table below lists roads in the City of Kawartha Lakes that will not be load restricted.  All other roads will be in a load-restricted state per the date on this notice, in accordance with By-Law 2022-190.

Please subscribe to the Public, Unassumed and Private Roads page for alerts on updates to the reduced load information by clicking "Subscribe to this Page" at the bottom of this page.

The following services are typically delivered from May-October:

A private road is a local road that is not owned by the municipality. It may or may not be publicly accessible. On March 21, 2017 Council made resolution on CR2017-248 that no new agreements be accepted for Limited Service Agreements (now Seasonal Level of Service) on Private Roads.

The municipality may assume a previously unassumed or private road in the future provided the road meets the minimum standards outlined in the Assumption of Private and Unassumed Roads Policy CP2017-010.