Garlands Crossing retiree lobbying province for Underwood Road upgrades

GARLANDS CROSSING, N.S. — A Garlands Crossing resident is hopeful the provincial Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal will heed his concerns about a pothole-ridden roadway and will fix it.

David Spears, who moved to the Hants County retirement community known as The Crossing six years ago, said the state of Underwood Road, which leads into The Crossing, has considerably deteriorated. He’s now advocating for change.

“I think it's become a hazard to drive out Underwood and around the damaged pavement area and that concerns me because I walk that almost daily,” said Spears, who relocated to West Hants from Lower Sackville.

And with no sidewalks in The Crossing or along the provincially-owned Underwood Road, Spears has witnessed some near misses.

“Everybody's having to veer out and go around (the potholes)... It's right at a crest so as you approach that, you can't safely see further down on Underwood,” he said. “So it is quite a concern; and for people that walk, it's an additional safety issue.”

Spears would like to see not only the pothole issue addressed but the entire street redeveloped.

Spears said the maintenance and service of Underwood Road “has been dismal.”

A number of potholes, located on a crest on Underwood Road, cause motorists to head into oncoming traffic in order to avoid them. David Spears, a nearby resident, is concerned that if the potholes are not fixed, someone will get hurt. CONTRIBUTED

He says TIR has not kept pace with the maintenance and development that is taking place around the roadway.

In the past decade, the area has been redeveloped and now boasts, at the end of Underwood Road, a large retirement community that features about 250 developed homes. As such, The Crossing has several side streets that feed onto Underwood Road, which only has one way in and one way out, and there are additional streets that are not part of The Crossing.

Spears contacted TIR through the department’s website in early November to voice his concerns and request action.

He would also like to see TIR install a centre line to keep traffic from wandering, which would make it safer for pedestrians and motorists alike.

Marla MacInnis, a media relations advisor with TIR, said in an email that the road is maintained, and repairs have been made twice this year.

“Crews conducted repairs on Underwood Road during the months of April and July and routinely fill potholes,” said MacInnis.

“We have recently received an inquiry regarding this road through the Operations Contact Centre. We review and investigate all requests and prioritize work accordingly.”

As for Spears’ other concerns, MacInnis said since Underwood Road is a subdivision street, it does not meet the criteria for a centre line.

“Pedestrian infrastructure, such as sidewalks, are the responsibility of municipalities. A request for a sidewalk on Underwood Road would need to be made to the local municipality,” she added.

MUNICIPAL REQUEST

Aside from the existing potholes, Spears says snow removal for Underwood Road takes at least a day, sometimes longer, for TIR to complete. With a large population of retirees now calling the area home, having an unplowed roadway is of great concern to him.

In November, at West Hants’ committee of the whole meeting, Coun. Randy Hussey, who lives in Garlands Crossing, brought forward a recommendation to council asking them to support taking over snow plowing operations for Underwood Road.

In his report, he said, “the residents of Underwood Road and area, including The Crossing, have been placed at a disadvantage by the province when it comes to the plowing and maintenance of Underwood

Road.”

Hussey noted that Underwood Road is a densely-populated area with only one operational exit.

“There are times during winter storms that Underwood Road does not get plowed for up to 24 hours after the snow has stopped. This makes it a safety issue that cannot be ignored,” he wrote.

He said municipal contractors have to drive over the unplowed road in order to access other streets for clearing and that doesn’t make sense.

He asked that the municipality take on the cost of plowing Underwood Road.

“This is a plea from the residents of that area. They feel they’re getting the short end of the stick from the municipality,” Hussey said at the meeting.

Coun. Robbie Zwicker, who represents Hantsport, said if the municipality considers the request, it should be via an area rate.

“That would make snow clearing in Garlands Crossing a base rate service. So with that logic, I would assume the snow clearing in Hantsport would then become a base rate service and would move from the area rate to the general rate,” said Zwicker.

“I don’t believe that’s a stretch. That’s an extra service that should be paid for by the residents, much like they do in Hantsport.”

Warden Abraham Zebian said he was meeting with Hants West MLA Chuck Porter and TIR representatives in December and requested Hussey’s recommendation be tabled to another meeting.

At the Dec. 10 council meeting, Zebian provided councillors with an update, noting that he and Hussey met with Porter and Gary Rafuse, from TIR, and discussed several issues relating to Underwood Road. In his written report, he said the municipality is seeking a memorandum of understanding with the province relating to snow clearing for this season.

“We suggested that the municipality and TIR sign an MOU for this season for snow plowing services and the municipality deduct the amount of the service from the total paid to the province for road

maintenance. They were agreeable to this and Minister Porter will bring back something for

us to look at,” Zebian wrote.

“The meeting was very positive and productive.”

Zebian’s report noted that lower speed limit signs and children at play signs will also be posted on the road to improve its safety. The road is to be lowered to 40 kilometres per hour from 50 kilometres per hour.