Mill Road Into Emerald - Rte 13 - Traffic Calming Measures

On November 16, 2022 I asked questions about roads in our District 18 Rustico-Emerald. I received commitments from the Minister of Transportation to:

Pave the Mill Road into Emerald in the 2023 construction season.
Complete widening and resurfacing Rte 13 between New Glasgow and Cavendish.
Consider traffic-calming measures in communities throughout the district - including Stanley Bridge, and Breadalbane.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQUwBn1WMhE&t=3494s Read the full transcript in the PDF file: Hansard-16 November 2022 page 19 of 66. Also see text of the debate below: Speaker: The hon. Member from Rustico-Emerald. Mr. Trivers: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Safe, reliable roads are vital to our economic growth, to support our primary industries, and to serve the growing number of housing developments underway. We need to take dirt roads, and they need to be paved. I can think of Trout River Road. I can think of Buffalo Road. I can also think of parts of Millvale Road. Today, I want to talk about the Mill Road, Route 254, which is one of the main north-south routes from the Confederation Bridge to tourist destinations, many of them further north. It’s often recommended by navigation systems like Google Maps. It’s also the main access to the village of Emerald from Route 2. The dirt section of the Mill Road has seen improvements in recent years, thank you very much, but it needs to be paved so it can handle the thousands of vehicles that travel it every year. Commitment to pave Mill Road in 2023 Question to the minister of transportation: Will you publicly commit here today to paving the unpaved portion of the Mill Road in 2023? Some Hon. Members: Hear, hear! Some Hon. Members: (Indistinct) An Hon. Member: More pavement. More pavement. Speaker: The hon. Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure. Mr. Deagle: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think this was the road, the community actually had a billboard out telling the people to call myself. I know you did approach me about this road for this summer. We weren’t able to get it done this summer, but yes, we can look at doing it next summer. I don’t see an issue with that. Some Hon. Members: Hear, hear! Speaker: The hon. Member from Rustico-Emerald. Mr. Trivers: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That is fantastic news. The residents will be so happy, and I am. Some Hon. Members: (Indistinct) Mr. Trivers: Another road in my district that is heavily travelled by tourists and local traffic alike is Route 13 from Hunter River to Cavendish. This is a popular road for cyclists – Mr. McNeilly: Twin it. Mr. Trivers: – and most tourists heading to visit Anne’s Land. Unfortunately, on a serious note, there have been fatalities in the past. There has been ongoing work, it started with the previous administration, to widen Route 13 from Hunter River up to Cavendish. However, the work is not complete and the last stretch – Speaker: Question. Mr. Trivers: – that needs to be widened is arguably one of the most dangerous, but there was no work done on it in 2022 on this road. Speaker: Question. Commitment to improve Route 13 in 2023 Mr. Trivers: Minister of transportation: Will you commit to completing the work to resurface and widen this final stretch of Route 13 during the 2023 work season? Speaker: The hon. Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure. Mr. Henderson: (Indistinct) election year. An Hon. Member: Take from up west. Mr. Deagle: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I see you’re shaking your head at me because I know you have a road that you would like to get some shoulders done on, which you’ve asked me about, and we are going to get that done next year as well. Speaker: (Indistinct) Mr. Deagle: I see everyone’s hands going up here. Yes, member, we will work to get that done next summer as well. Speaker: The hon. Member from Rustico-Emerald, your second supplementary. Mr. Trivers: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we know, we’ve seen record tourism this year, and more and more people moving to our great Island, especially in District 18 Rustico-Emerald. The increased traffic and increased population in our small communities, as well as increased – unfortunately – traffic violations like speeding have often resulted in unsafe road conditions. The implementation of speed limit changes, speed radar signs, and even traffic lights really need to be considered to improve traffic safety – Mr. McNeilly: Overpass. Overpass. Addition of traffic-calming measures Mr. Trivers: Question to the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure: Will your department commit to adding trafficcalming measures to improve road safety in all our small rural communities prior to the next tourism season? Speaker: The hon. Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure. Mr. Deagle: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know we did – I believe they’re installed, they might be installed already, three sets of radar feedback signs in your area already. I know you did make a request for a number of them. I can follow up and see where we’re at with the other requests. Obviously, we can’t have them on every single road, because then they don’t quite have the same effect anymore, but I’ll follow up and will see where we’re at with those.