PICTOU
Sidewalks were on the minds of county councillors Tuesday as they questioned how they can be built and if they can afford them.
The Municipality of the County of Pictou said residents can expect to see construction start on three new sidewalk projects in the next few weeks in different areas.
Council recently approved a bid from CF Construction for $438,251 to construct three sidewalks in the county. The sidewalks will be on MacGregor Avenue, near the Pictou County Wellness Centre, as well as Alma, near Northumberland Regional High School, and Riverton, near the Riverview Home.
It is expected to take eight weeks to complete the sidewalks in Riverton and MacGregor Avenue and 12 weeks in Alma.
But this wasn’t the end of the conversation as councillors expressed concern about other areas in need of sidewalks in order to make pedestrian traffic safer.
Coun. Randy Palmer said he recently witnessed a person having trouble getting through the Blue Acres area on a 900-metre section that does not have sidewalks.
This area has been brought up as a pedestrian concern in the past by councillors because there is section along the busy road from the end of the bridge on East River Road heading toward Stellarton that has no sidewalk. Much of East River Road has turning lanes or ramps in this area for traffic exiting or entering the Trans-Canada Highway.
Staff told councillors during a property services meeting Tuesday that it had provincial government representatives look at the area and it was initially thought in order to have the existing sidewalks connected by installing others in the short stretch, that islands would need be constructed at the intersection. However, the province recently reported that islands weren’t an option and if sidewalks were put in place then the intersections would need to be redesigned.
This led to a discussion about putting sidewalks on the opposite of the road, but this would involve having pedestrian structures attached to two bridges so people could safely cross waterways.
There is currently a crosswalk between the two bridges that would lead to Stirlings Apples in Blue Acres but at least one of the bridges would need a parallel pedestrian structure constructed to bring it up to standard for pedestrian traffic, said county staff.
Once someone walked off the bridge onto the crosswalk, they would cross the street and walk along a sidewalk until they reach the intersections near the bridge on East River Road. The intersections at East River Road do have signals in place for pedestrians and a crosswalk could safely be put there.
However, another pedestrian bridge would need be constructed on the East River Road bridge in order to bring it up to standards.
“Sometimes we put people at more risk than less risk,” said Warden Robert Parker.
He said the county would need to determine as well if it was cost prohibitive and if getting financial assistance from Stellarton and New Glasgow was an option since the section would connect sidewalks in both these areas.
“Yes, it is in the county but I feel this is a case no different than the hospital road,” he said referring to the six local municipal units agreeing to pay the cost of a new emergency road leading into the Aberdeen Hospital.
Coun. Randy Palmer said he feels the county is putting people at risk now by not having sidewalks in the area and is inviting people to walk there because it maintains the existing sidewalks in all seasons, including the winter when they are plowed.
He said he wasn’t in favour of looking for financial help from other municipalities, but the county could look at other funding options.
“First, we need to find out if we can do it on the other side of the road,” he said.
In the end, council agreed to get the cost for putting sidewalks in the Blue Acres/ East River Road area before any other decisions are made.
It will also be looking at the cost of putting in sidewalks in Little Harbour that could stretch from the public housing complex on Little Harbour Road to the local convenience store.
The request was put forward by Coun. Debbie Wadden who said people of different ages live in the complex, including seniors and some don’t have any vehicles.
“They are walking through a 50-kilometre speed zone and people are at great risk,” she said.
Coun. Ron Baillie added that it’s important for the county to maintain the sidewalks currently in place so he asked for a cost in repairing sidewalks in River John that lead to the local library.
