REEVES STREET REDO
Fire chief has safety concerns over project.
The chief of the local volunteer fire department is raising safety concerns about plans to redevelop the town’s main thoroughfare, which include reducing it to three lanes from four. Port Hawkesbury Volunteer Fire Department Chief Curtis Doucet said in an interview Monday that members of the department plan to seek a meeting with representatives of the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal (TIR) to outline their concerns over the plans to reconfigure Reeves Street, a busy provincially owned four-lane highway that runs through the heart of the town.
The department’s fire hall is located on Hiram Street, near Reeves Street. The department also regularly responds to motor vehicle collisions that occur on the roadway.
“We have concerns with traffic flow,” Doucet said. “I know they’re saying the road flows much better but we’re concerned that when we’re responding to the hall going to get our trucks, most of our guys are driving our personal vehicles and our concern is to get through and you’re stuck in the one lane not being able to get to the hall as fast as you’d able to with the four lanes.”
Doucet said they are also concerned about the fire trucks using the proposed centre alternating turn lane and the potential for collisions with other vehicles.
“Come wintertime when you’ve got a fresh coat of snow on the road and nobody can see the lines, if you’re a resident and you’re used to it you’re fine, but if you’ve got people coming in from out of town with tractor-trailer loads of equipment for Point Tupper, if they don’t know it’s three lanes and they start driving in the wrong lane, ultimately, we’re concerned of accidents,” Doucet said.
“When you’re going down the road with lights and sirens, people aren’t always obeying the law by pulling over. We’re concerned with this when it’s four lanes, what’s going to happen when it’s down to three lanes?”
Representatives of the fire hall attended a recent open house held on the project to relay their apprehensions. Doucet said they hope to also include the Port Hastings Volunteer Fire Department and any other local emergency services if they are able to secure a meeting with Transportation Minister Lloyd Hines.
“Ultimately, we’d like to get a meeting with TIR to voice our concerns on the project itself,” Doucet said.
He added they have no issues with the town’s desire to improve the appearance of the street. Town officials expressed some surprise that many motorists don’t yield to emergency vehicles as they are required to do, Doucet said.
In a recent interview, Hines said his department has been working with the town on the
“When you’re going down the road with lights and sirens, people aren’t always obeying the law by pulling over. We’re concerned with this when it’s four lanes, what’s going to happen when it’s down to three lanes?”
Port Hawkesbury Volunteer Fire Department Chief Curtis Doucet
Reeves Street project.
“We’re there to assist. We think it’s a great initiative on their part … within the confines of our participation, which is our street and our road on Reeves Street, we’re certainly there as far as the project goes,” he said.
Hines called the street an
important industrial thoroughfare. There is heavy large truck traffic on the street, including trucks carrying wood to the Port Hawkesbury Paper facility in nearby Point Tupper.
“To its credit, I think the town is looking at softening the industrial image and sort of shaping Reeves Street into a more welcoming environment, as far as traffic goes,” Hines said.
Mayor Brenda ChisholmBeaton could not be reached for comment Monday.
A request for proposals was recently issued for the planning, design and engineering services for the proposed overhaul of Reeves Street. The tender closes Jan. 23.
A Reeves Street safety study and a street concept plan have already taken place.
The tender document notes
that the project is based on a desire to transition Reeves Street to a more urban street feel, “having a downtown street appeal where people will want to work, play and reside.”
The plan includes reconfiguring it from four lanes to three for vehicle traffic, an active transportation and greenspace lane, sidewalk improvements, a street improvement program and the facade program.
The current plan would see improvements from Pitt Street intersection east to Trunk 4 take place in the 2018 construction season, with phase two — improvements from Pitt Street to the Nova Scotia Community College entrance — take place in the 2019 construction season.