Pictou could revamp Veteran’s Drive — again

The Veteran’s Drive debate is back on in Pictou.

In the summer of 2017, town councillors voted 3-2 in favour of making a 50-metre section of Veterans Drive, between Dunromin Terrace and the Royal Canadian Legion, into a one-way street.

At the time, the council said it would review the situation after one year.

It was hoped the changes would make it safer for pedestrians walking on what is a busy connector street that has no sidewalk, but now the town is considering a couple of options: erecting a stop sign at the corner of Veteran’s Drive and Hector Street to slow traffic or perhaps using other methods — such as putting up bright yellow speed limit signs or installing rumble strips — to make motorists more cognizant of the pedestrian traffic in the residential area.

“We need to do something to inform drivers that children and seniors are using that road,” said Mayor Jim Ryan.

Coun. Nadine LeBlanc said at a Nov. 5 council meeting that she is concerned about making further changes to the street after vigorous debate over the past number of years, which included two traffic studies in that part of town.

“I just think this has to stop. This has been two years,” she said.

But Coun. Dan Currie said that “without (doing) something else, I don’t see us taking the barrier down just because it’s an inconvenience. Doing nothing is absolutely not an option.”

The town will approach the traffic authority to ask it to study the possible scenarios and take a couple of weeks to see what might be the best approach.