The Town of Port Hawkesbury wants the provincial government to provide traffic data for Reeves Street from the summer before entering a cost-sharing agreement for a survey of town residents.
During last night’s regular monthly meeting, CAO Terry Doyle said the town and the Department
Port Hawkesbury Town Council (Town of Port Hawkesbury photo)
of Public Works are undertaking the survey to gauge opinions about traffic changes, and the town’s part of the project like streetscaping and façade improvements.
Under the deal, Doyle said the town would pay 25% of the costs of the survey, approximately $5,000, while the province would pay the remaining 75%.
Noting that the province owns Reeves Street, Town Councillor Hughie MacDougall asked whether the town is paying for something that it shouldn’t.
Along with the lane changes which were implemented by the province, the CAO replied that there are other town-centred items in the survey, like those regarding Active Transportation.
Because the province said the survey is the last stage and would conclude the project, Town Councillor Mark MacIver said he is concerned that data from the summer, when traffic volumes are expected to increase, will not be in the survey. He noted that traffic numbers have been lower over the past two years, and he doesn’t want to sign-off on the survey before getting all the information.
Doyle said the survey results will inform a study of the project, which will compile speed averages, as well as the number and severity of accidents. He said the resolution has been on the books and is a request of council for years, making it time sensitive.
The CAO said traffic figures from the past two years were “very similar” from previous years, an assertion that was backed up by Town Councillor Blaine MacQuarrie and Deputy Warden Jason Aucoin.
MacIver wants to get a report from Nova Scotia Public Works about traffic movements in July and August, specifically whether there were delays, before deciding on the survey.
MacQuarrie said the survey will inform future decisions like improved signage to warn of lane changes at Holy Trinity Anglican Church, and the cross lights at the intersection of Old Sydney Road and MacSween Street.
Aucoin said the town had a lot of input on the survey questions, and he’s fine with the survey being done in the spring, which will provide “truer numbers” than in the summer.
Although Doyle said he wasn’t sure how public works would react to a delay and this could involve extra costs for the marketing company, council approved the resolution with an amendment that the town be fully updated on the survey results in September before it signs the agreement