Months after historic flooding hit Brantford, some affected areas are still unsafe.

“Under the Lorne Bridge there, I don’t know why that’s not cleaned up,” said Terry Chandler, a cyclist who uses bike trails near affected areas several times a week. “I suppose they’re doing clean-up elsewhere.”

That clean-up will come at a cost of an estimated $4.5 million.

Brantford parks and recreation general manager Sandy Jackson said the cost does not come as a shock, given the extent of the damage.

“The trails systems are not inexpensive to repair,” she said. “These bridges are historical bridges that we don’t have drawings for, and so to actually investigate the damage to them and to figure out how we repair them… I’m really not surprised.”

She added that the estimate does not account for the loss of mature trees in affected areas, which are difficult and expensive to replace.

While dangerous places along the flooded areas have been closed to the public, many people are resorting to unsafe detours. Some are even hopping fences in closed areas.

“It actually makes my heart stop, seeing and hearing that,” Jackson said.

While city officials say that they are working hard to clean the trails, some bridges, like the pedestrian bridge Brant Crossing, will remain closed through the whole summer.

Months after historic flooding hit Brantford, some affected areas are still unsafe.