Port Hawkesbury councillors vote to revert street redesign to push province on fixes

Changes to the main artery running through Port Hawkesbury, N.S., were intended to make the street safer, but town councillors say the redesign has had some unintended consequences.

They have voted to have Reeves Street, which is a provincial road, revert back to its original design, but that's not what they really want. The street used to be four lanes and it was reconfigured to three lanes with some turning lanes. 

Deputy Mayor Mark MacIver, who made a motion last week to ask the provincial Department of Public Works to undo all of its work since 2019, said he and other councillors are really just upset at the lack of action on a list of safety complaints that go back at least two years.

Last week, the town council discussed a lengthy list of what they say are safety concerns including a lack of line painting, hidden crosswalk signals and unclear signage, among other things.

"I would say the motion will bring everything to a head and get people at the table and council will be able to express their concerns with the road and we'll get down exactly what the province is going to do to correct some of the issues and get it started," he said Monday.

In 2019, the province and the town began work on a plan called Destination Reeves Street that included changes to enhance the business district, improve safety on the road and build active transportation trails linking neighbourhoods together.

But councillors say area residents are complaining about traffic tie-ups and increasing summer travel is making things worse.

"We're seeing a big difference in the traffic and I've seen it myself," MacIver said. "You have drivers who are frustrated and they're driving down the centre turning lanes to get an entrance rather than wait in line."

MacIver said councillors are frustrated over a lack of action from the province, so he made the motion to have the street revert to its original design.

But MacIver said he and the councillors who voted for the motion really just want the problems fixed.

"I think it'll get us at the table and we'll be able to voice our concerns and move forward."

Mayor Brenda Chisholm-Beaton, the lone council member to vote against the motion, said going back to the original four-lane design would hurt efforts to build active transportation trails.

Council just approved a budget with $9.1 million in expenditures, including funding for a seven-kilometre active transportation trail that would connect to Reeves Street, she said.

"The motion really did counteract an important project that was embedded in the budget that we just passed."

In addition, the items on the list of concerns mostly just need tweaking, Chisholm-Beaton said.

"Many of them, it's not a bridge too far to create some fixes."

Province says it will respond to council

Early data indicates the work done so far has made Reeves Street safer, the mayor said.

"I couldn't imagine going back to the four-lane configuration and all of the dangers that we experienced under that configuration with the speeding and the accidents," Chisholm-Beaton said.

In an emailed statement, Nova Scotia Public Works said it will be following up with council, but did not indicate when.

MacIver said council is expected to hold an in-camera meeting on Friday to review a draft letter to the province asking for the redesign to be undone.

However, he said, the province has already been in contact with the town and it appears a meeting will be scheduled shortly after the letter goes out.