Some East Kildonan residents say they are frustrated that the city has yet to deliver on its promises of a long-term fix to problems on Molson Street.

The residents have been lobbying the city for years to rebuild the road instead of resurfacing it every summer.

Residents want to see the road rebuilt with two lanes in either direction from Munroe Avenue to Grassie Boulevard.

There was hope the work would be included in the 2012 capital budget, but the city recently indicated there won’t be any civic financing available until next year.

The city’s capital budget estimates call for $400,000 to be spent in 2013 to pay for preliminary design costs for the project.

Coun. Thomas Steen (Elmwood-East Kildonan) said the work currently being done is simple maintenance which became necessary because the stretch of road is in such bad shape.

"This is just some maintenance work. They’re doing some streetscaping," Steen said.

"This is operating money and not part of the capital funds we’re pushing for."

Area resident Todd Perdonic said it makes no sense for the city to continue spending money on cosmetic fixes to the road.

"It’s just putting lipstick on a pig. The whole road needs to be taken care of," Perdonic said.

"That’s extremely disappointing. It seems like a bit of a waste."

Resident Claude Hebert said he was shocked to see city workers doing repairs to the road last week rather than the anticipated reconstruction.

"They definitely told us the goal was to rebuild Molson," Hebert said.

"Trust me, I’m not a happy camper."

Steen said there are still plans to undertake the design work in 2013, or possibly earlier, and he is continuing to have discussions with the other two levels of government concerning funding for the project.

"They wanted to do something with that stretch because of the seniors home and hospital. But we’re still lobbying the provincial and federal government to make it happen," Steen said.

"It will be good for now, but we need to redo that street properly."

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adrian.alleyne@canstarnews.com