In need of emergency exits
Councillors explore reviving abandoned roadway
SYDNEY — Reinstating the long-abandoned Louisbourgto-gabarus roadway may be one idea to ensure alternate escape routes are available to Cape Breton Regional Municipality residents in case of emergency situations such as wildfires, two councillors say.
Last year’s wildfires in Halifax Regional Municipality and Shelburne County prompted District 7 Coun. Steve Parsons to bring forth an issue paper request to see the development of exit plans for residents in the event of natural disasters.
“During the summer of 2023 … it became clear that residential areas where there was one way in and one way out became a major concern in relation to an evacuation plan,” Parsons told council during its Tuesday night meeting at city hall.
In his own district, Parsons targeted two specific areas — Tometary Drive in Howie Centre and Route 327 into Gabarus — where residents were most at risk of not having any alternate escape route should a wildfire, major storm or other natural disaster occur.
By way of example, Parsons told Saltwire on Thursday that along Tometary Drive is a bridge that crosses deeper into the subdivision, surrounded by forested areas.
“There, you have six different offshoots of main roads that go back two to three kilometres,” he said. “If there happens to be a structure fire, a forest fire or what not, and that bridge gets cut off, then you have a large number of people in that area who have no way out.”
BRIDGE WASHOUT
Parsons first raised the “one way in, one way out” concerns during fire and emergency services committee meetings in June and October 2023 in the hope that emergency management operations would be able to work with the CBRM’S planning department to explore other possible emergency exit alternatives, rather than be faced with residents essentially trapped in their own communities.
“There’s obviously a large role (the planning department plays) in when there’s a new construction, even if there’s some changes to an existing area, to try and ensure that the issue is addressed in future construction … to mitigate any negative outcomes like what we saw in Tantallon (last year),” Bruce Macdonald, manager of CBRM’S emergency management operations, said following a January meeting.
Jim Prince, fire chief with the Howie Centre Volunteer Fire Department, recalled about 23-25 years ago when that particular bridge was completely washed out for about a week or so. With 125 homes beyond that bridge, getting residents out proved to be a daunting task.
“They had to put in a (temporary) Bailey bridge on top of Coldbrook Drive, which took about a few days to build, as well as a foot bridge on Tometary Drive,” Prince said. “I happened to live up on Brandy Drive, at the back end of the subdivision, and I got caught with both vehicles on the other side of the bridge.
“From a fire standpoint, one time we were able to block off the river to get a couple of trucks across, but this was only going to last about 15 minutes. It was just enough time to get fire trucks and an ambulance through. Another time, we had to walk across the footbridge or use the Bailey bridge.”
Prince said should a major forest fire break out that might block off Tometary Drive, “it’s hard to know what would happen until it happens. But how you get out or what’s the best way to get out? There isn’t any other option.”
There may be some ATV trails through to either the Marion Bridge highway to the southeast or Meadows Road to the southwest, Prince said. But realistically, these wouldn’t properly suffice as escape routes.
REVIVING LOUISBOURG-TO-GABARUS ROAD
“You could end up with a whole lot of people in that area who would be trapped,” Prince said.
Parsons’ request from Tuesday night — which council unanimously passed — wouldn’t be limited to just his district.
James Edwards, CBRM deputy mayor and District 8 councillor, noted that the community of Louisbourg also would fall under the “one way in, one way out” scenario.
“There’s the gravel bypass road around Louisbourg, but that runs parallel to the main drag,” Edwards said, adding that wouldn’t qualify if a fire occurred on the Louisbourg Highway itself.
Interestingly, both Edwards and Parsons have been exploring whether the old Louisbourg-to-gabarus roadway — abandoned since the 1960s — could be revived.
“There has been a lot of interest in the communities to reattach that trail,” Edwards said. “Because if there’s a forest fire that happens in Louisbourg, how else do people get out?”
Edwards said he and Parsons have been speaking with Cape Breton-canso MP Mike Kelloway, and looking to bring Cape Breton East MLA Brian Comer and Parks Canada into the conversations, about what would be needed to reinstate the Louisbourg-to-gabarus route.