Council hears concerns about lack of sanding and salting on secondary roads
Council will be penning a letter to the provincial government over concerns about a lack of salting and sanding on Pictou County roads.
Roads in rural Pictou County are maintained by the Nova Scotia government but councillors say they receive many calls from residents with concerns about their roads this winter.
“I understand that temperatures are up and down and all over the place this winter, but people aren’t feeling safe, and I would like to see if we could make a motion to write a letter to see if there were system changes and the impacts behind that,” said District 3 Coun. Darla MacKeil. “Residents I have spoken to are concerned and want some answers.”
Warden Robert Parker echoed Coun. MacKeil’s comments by saying that many of his residents are concerned about the lack of sanding on secondary roads while District 2 Coun. Deborah Wadden said about 50 percent of her calls from residents in the winter are about poor road conditions.
He said the comments being made are no reflection on the people doing the work but rather a question as to whether there is adequate supplies available for them to their job.
District 10 Coun. Randy Palmer said when he receives calls from residents about roads, he refers them to their local MLA because roads are a provincial issue.
“Our MLAs should be the ones taking these calls,” he said. “ I can make a phone call to (public works) and it might get a result, but the MLAs should be fielding calls, not just council. They are provincial roads. That is their jurisdiction, not ours.”
Coun. Wadden said she has contacted her area’s MLA in the past about road conditions and believes that the municipal council can be an advocate for people who have concerns. She said there are times when the calls she makes to the provincial government do work and a road gets the attention it needs, but unfortunately, there are also times that something dangerous happens like the recent propane truck that slide off the road in Pictou Landing.
“I don’t see any harm in continuing to work with our MLAs,” she said.
Council agreed to send a letter with their concerns over the lack of sanding and salting on Pictou County roads this winter to the local MLAS, MP Sean Fraser as well as the local supervisor for Nova Scotia Public Works.