Liverpool Town Bridge Photo Ed Halverson

The Region of Queens is going ahead with design work to make the town bridge safer and more accessible for pedestrians and cyclists.

The two-lane bridge over the Mersey River is the main thoroughfare into downtown Liverpool.

The steel structure was built in 1958 and spans about 100 metres with an inside width of 9.6 metres. It has a sidewalk on each side. There are no paved shoulders, dedicated bike lanes or barriers to separate traffic from pedestrians.

Two years ago, regional council commissioned a technical evaluation from engineering firm CBCL to look at active transportation upgrades. Council at that time decided to hold off on any work until more funding became available from the provincial or federal governments.

Simply to maintain the bridge with no improvements would have cost $325,000. To realign the two lanes and expand one sidewalk would have cost $700,000. An active transportation expansion with a dedicated space for pedestrians and cyclists had a price tag of $3.4 million. A totally separate pedestrian bridge over the river was estimated at $4.4 million.

Adam Grant, the region’s director of infrastructure, discussed the issue this week at council’s regular meeting. He said those estimates from 2023 would now likely be about 10 per cent more. He recommended the $3.4-million option.

“I think we get rid of a lot of the challenges that’ll be found working inside the existing structure,” he told councillors.

“Going that way would open up an avenue to create bicycle lanes on the existing bridge once the sidewalks are removed, as well as it wouldn’t require a realignment of the street from lanes all the way through to Water Street so it would be less invasive on the existing street structure, and would probably be able to provide a more fulsome solution on the exterior of the bridge as opposed to trying to fit within a kind of more refined area.”

Grant said he wanted to get the design work started so that the project would be shovel-ready if funding is secured. Councillors had set aside $181,749 in the region’s capital investment plan.

Under the municipality’s current agreement with the province, maintenance and repair work on the bridge is cost-shared 50/50.

But improvements to the bridge would require a new funding agreement, he said.

“At this point under the agreement we have, they’re under no obligation to entertain any upgrades.”

Councillors supported the less costly $3.4-million active transportation expansion, but said they need to look for funding from other levels of government.

Deputy Mayor Maddie Charlton said she wants to see the expansion go ahead, but the region needs help from the province.

“I feel like we need to address this certainly. It’s not safe. If you’re walking on the bridge now, you’re quite high up, people misstep, and you could very easily be on the road. … We do have cyclists in Queens and so that’s a bit of a problematic place as it is,” Charlton said.

“We’re funding the design work. We should have some really meaningful conversations to look for support (for the expansion) because I don’t think we can take that on on our own, nor would it be fair for us to take it on on our own.”

Councillors voted unanimously to spend the money for the design work, while directing staff to look for funding for the improvements from the federal and provincial governments.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Nova Scotia Public Works Minister and Queens MLA Kim Masland announces cell service upgrades on Wednesday in Greenfield with Service Nova Scotia Minister Colton LeBlanc. (Rick Conrad)

It’s going to take a couple of years, but residents of Greenfield are finally getting cell service.

The Nova Scotia government is building 27 new telecommunication towers in unserved areas around the province at a cost of $18.6 million.

Public Works Minister and Queens MLA Kim Masland made the announcement on Wednesday at the Greenfield Fire Hall in north Queens.

She was joined by Colton LeBlanc, minister of Service Nova Scotia, municipal politicians and representatives from Build Nova Scotia and Rogers.

Masland said reliable cell service is a necessity and a matter of safety.

“We are adding to what is already the largest investment ever in cellular infrastructure by a provincial government. We are investing an additional $18.6 million to build 27 new provincially owned telecommunication towers.”

Last October, the province launched the $47.3-million Cellular for Nova Scotia Program. The province also announced $3.3 million last year to build four trunked mobile radio towers, which first responders use for emergency communication. The new funding brings the total investment to $69.2 million.

The province is also partnering with Rogers to upgrade infrastructure at 27 existing sites and connect them to the Rogers network.

“This will significantly improve connectivity for Nova Scotians over the next two years,” Masland said. “It’s what our province needs to keep pace with technology and population growth while improving safety in rural communities.”

The overall program is expected to connect more than 12,000 unserved civic addresses, which represents about 62 per cent of the more than 20,000 identified in a 2022 Cell Gap Study. It will also connect 562 kilometres of unserved primary roadways, or 56 per cent of the 1,010 kilometres of the unserved roadways.

The first four towers will be up by spring 2025, with the remaining new and upgraded sites ready between summer 2025 and spring 2027.

Some areas of the province, like Greenfield, are cellular dead zones. Residents and businesses have to rely on landlines or Wi-Fi calling.

The Greenfield work is expected to be completed by fall of 2026.

Fire Chief Moyal Conrad called it a “game changer” for rural fire departments.

“The public is going to be so much more protected with cell service in rural areas and with us being able to do our job easier and better,” he told reporters after the announcement.

Conrad said improvements to the mobile trunked radio network will also help departments like his serve their communities better.

“That trunk radio that’s what we do all our communications on. … All vital information goes across that. The Nova Scotia government is giving us (volunteer fire departments) all new radios this year, that’s another $100 million they’re sticking out there for us.

“This is very, very, very good news.”

Conrad said the lack of reliable cell service also affects recruitment efforts, at a time when it’s tough enough for rural departments to find volunteers.

“If you signed up today to be a fireman and you never got to a call, you’re not going to be very interested in coming. So the cell service, we’ll be able to put out more information. People will be able to know when there’s a call and they’re going to be able to respond.”

Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman said the municipality had been putting money aside in a special reserve fund to build their own tower for Greenfield, or to try to partner with the neighbouring Municipality of the District of Lunenburg.

“This is absolutely amazing, not only for Queens but for all rural counties, all rural places that do not have cell coverage which is so very, very vital.”

Masland told reporters that it’s taken a while to address lack of cell service in some areas because of the difficulty in doing the work in many rural areas of the province. She likened it to climbing Mount Everest.

“This is just the beginning. We’re working concurrently, not waiting to make sure that we can keep climbing. This is going to take time. We are finally a government that has put its teeth into this problem and we’re going to solve it.

“We’ll get these 27 up and like I said, we’re not stopping, we’re going to continue to climb to the top and we’re going to make sure that Nova Scotians have the cellular service they deserve.”

The 27 new towers will be added to the more than 60 the province already owns. Under its agreement with Rogers, the government is pitching in 80 per cent of the cost, while Rogers will pick up the remaining 20 per cent or about $3.7 million.

The ultimate goal is to have 99 per cent coverage for basic voice call service and up to 85 per cent coverage for high-definition service for things like high-quality audio or video, internet browsing, email and streaming.

Masland said the province will also be applying to the federal government for help with some of the cost.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Nova Scotia Public Works Minister and Queens MLA Kim Masland with Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman at a funding announcement at the region’s offices on April 15. (Rick Conrad)

Queens MLA Kim Masland will be at Queens Place Emera Centre on Friday at 1 p.m. to announce money for community recreation infrastructure.

Masland, who is also Nova Scotia’s public works minister, is making the announcement on behalf of Allan MacMaster, the minister of communities, culture, tourism and heritage.

No other details were provided in a news release on Thursday afternoon. Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman will also be at the event.

This will be the second significant funding announcement for Queens County in the past two weeks.

Last Monday, Masland announced $10.7 million in funding for water and sewer upgrades for the region. The municipality is pitching in $10.8 million. The $21.5-million project will extend water and wastewater services to the Mount Pleasant area of Liverpool. That money will also help improve existing water and sewer services to more than 1,200 homes and businesses in the area, and help enhance the amount of water available for firefighting efforts.

That project paved the way for two new private housing developments on more than 60 acres of land. About 325 new housing units will be built for up to 1,200 people.

QCCR will be at the announcement on Friday.

Kim Masland, Queens MLA and Nova Scotia’s public works minister, announces $10.7 million in provincial funding for a $21.5-million water and sewer expansion that gives the green light to two new housing developments in the Liverpool area. (Rick Conrad)

The Nova Scotia government and the Region of Queens are teaming up on a $21.5-million project to extend and improve water and sewer services in the Liverpool area.

Queens MLA Kim Masland on Monday announced $10.7 million in provincial funding to expand water and wastewater service to the Mount Pleasant area. The region will pitch in $10.8 million. 

The project means that two new private housing developments will go ahead on more than 60 acres of land. About 325 new housing units will be built for up to 1,200 people. It will be a mix of sold and rented space. About a third of those units could be affordable housing.

Masland, who is also Nova Scotia’s public works minister, made the announcement at the region’s municipal offices in Liverpool on behalf of John Lohr, the minister of municipal affairs and housing. 

“We need this funding, we know our community’s growing, we certainly need affordable and more housing stock within our community,” she said in an interview after the announcement.

“We’re attracting people to our community every day, there are med professionals that want to come here. This is a great project. This will allow us to build more houses.”

Masland said a municipal housing needs assessment found that Queens County needs 555 more housing units by the end of 2027. She said it’s difficult to recruit health care staff to move to the area if there’s nowhere to live.

“We need people building faster. We need homes up, we need places for people to live. We are in a housing crisis in the province and we’re going to do whatever we can to make sure we can help.”

The funding will also improve existing water and sewer services to more than 1,200 homes and businesses in the area, and help improve the amount of water available for firefighting efforts.

Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman emphasized that the funding will do more than help developers build new homes.

She said the current infrastructure is at or over capacity. The project will improve service for residents in Liverpool, Brooklyn and Milton.

“There are some really crucial repairs that need to be made to our system, so it can expand in all directions. This is not case-specific for specific people.”

The provincial portion of the funding comes from the $102-million Municipal Capital Growth Program. The region applied in December for the funding.

Norman said the region’s finance staff are working now to figure out how the municipal portion will be funded. The region is currently working on its 2024/25 budget.

Adam Grant, the region’s director of engineering and public works, said Monday he hopes the work will be finished in 24 to 36 months.

“So work is already underway. Following the feasibility study, we’ve migrated into some design work preliminary and that’s underway right now, looking at having designs rolled out in the fall and construction starting in the next 12 months ideally.”

The developers behind the two housing projects said Monday they were excited by the news. They’ve lobbied the municipality for the past few years to extend water and sewer services to those areas.

Both projects are near downtown Liverpool.

Larry Cochrane plans an 87-unit development on the old Dauphinee Farm property near Queens General Hospital, which would include a 24-unit apartment building.

He said he will soon begin the design phase of the project.

“I wish it was faster of course, but we’ll take that because there’s lots of work I need to do to get ready to start a project like this.”

Graham van der Pas is a partner with Rumclo Developments. They plan a three-stage development on about 30 acres of land farther up the road from Cochrane’s project.

“We’re very, very excited. We’ve been lobbying for this for the past two years. So it’s amazing.”

The Rumclo development will feature The Point, which will have 124, two-bedroom homes for sale, The Curve, with 22 three-bedroom townhouses, and Birchwood Gardens, 82 affordable rental apartments. Van der Pas said the affordable rentals will be 80 per cent of the median market rate. A one-bedroom would be about $800 a month, a two-bedroom $1,000 and a three-bedroom would rent for $1,200.

A section of The Curve will also be reserved for staff from Queens General Hospital to rent.

“I think a community like this needs it,” van der Pas said. 

“I think what our developments will bring to the town is … a significant amount of property taxes. The revenue will go up there, the economic revenue of people potentially starting businesses, new patrons for the businesses that are already existing. It’s significant.”

Ashley Christian, president of the South Queens Chamber of Commerce, said she’s happy that such a big investment is being made in Queens.

“We have been advocating through the chamber of commerce for more housing for a couple of years. So we’re so excited to see this huge investment, especially made by the municipality, really impressed by that.”

Christian said she’s especially happy that half the funding is coming from the province. She said she hopes that means the project won’t be a big burden on municipal taxpayers.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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The proposed site for the new library at Queens Place lies at the end of the driveway beside the sledding hill. Photo Ed Halverson

Region of Queens Council will revisit the decision to build the new public library at Queens Place.

Several councillors have expressed they didn’t have a full picture of the costs involved in locating the new library at Queens Place when they voted in January.

At issue is an estimated $950,000 cost to extend the road, sidewalks, and underground water and sewer infrastructure to accommodate the new build.

At the last council meeting CAO Chris McNeill explained that while it is not policy, it has been councils’ practice to reinvest the proceeds from the land sales at Queens Place back into the site.

Queens sold a large plot for the construction of the new long-term care facility replacing Queens Manor and Hillsview Manor.

The new road would reach the library as well as the new long-term care home.

Because it wasn’t infrastructure work dedicated to the library build, it wasn’t included when the costs were tallied to locate the library on the site.

Councillor Maddie Charlton says the $950,000 puts the site preparation costs at Queens Place far higher than any of the other seven sites that were being considered.

She says the Region has many priorities and it should be up to council to decide if they want to allocate $950,000 for Queens Place or if it could be used on another project.

That led to this exchange at the last meeting between Councillor Charlton and Mayor Darlene Norman.

“It sounds to me like the library committee was under the assumption that this was a signed deal, that infrastructure was happening,” said Charlton, “and we didn’t have an opportunity to discuss that’s how we want to spend that money.”

Norman replied, “There is a way to change your mind about when new information comes forward and it is called resending emotion.”

Mayor Norman is concerned if council can’t agree to build a new library at Queens Place it may never be built.

“There may even be a discussion at some point in time, we may even get back to why do we need a new library and all other things. I mean, I really don’t know why council cannot just agree that Queens Place is a great place to put a library which we are committed to do, you know,” said Norman. “Library services are part of our responsibility and it’s a library for Queens County. It’s not a Liverpool library, it’s a library for Queens County. And if we have $1,000,000 from the sale of land and we want to put that into roads, sidewalk that may assist the Manor, well isn’t that a great thing?”

Council will vote if they want to rescind the motion to build the library at Queens Place during their next meeting March 14.

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Screen grab of Citizen Reporter portal on Region of Queens website

Residents of Queens now have a direct line when reporting infrastructure issues.

The Region of Queens has launched the Citizen Reporter Tool, an online portal to relay non-emergency infrastructure issues.

Mayor Darlene Norman says when people have issues with potholes, loose manhole covers, signage they can contact the people directly responsible for resolving the problem instead of waiting for the information to be relayed through herself, councillors or front desk staff.

“Often, it may go through two or three hands before it reaches where it should reach,” said Norman. “This will allow a person to state exactly what the problem is and they can track when it is addressed.”

Once a problem is logged, staff will assess the situation and determine its priority against other issues they are a currently addressing.

Updates will then be provided through the online portal.

Norman does note the new system is designed for non-emergency issues only, and if someone is experiencing issues with their water, for instance, they should contact the Region of Queens emergency line at 902-354-7157 or 902-354-4749 after hours.

Of course, for those who aren’t tech savvy, Norman says there’s still the option to call herself, the councillors or region staff who will then log the problem.

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Region of Queens administration building. Photo Ed Halverson

Residents of Queens can expect their water rates to go up by 19 percent in the new year.

A water rate study presented at the last session of Region of Queens Council indicates water rates in the municipality are among the lowest in the province.

According to Region of Queens mayor Darlene Norman, most municipalities undertake a water rate study about every four years.

The study presented to council is the first to be done in Queens since 2002.

Norman says relying on data that is so out of date is costing the municipality.

“What I do know is that our utility is not bringing in enough revenue to match our expenses. So we are applying to the UARB for a slight increase in the base rate for the next three years,” said Norman.

If Nova Scotia’s utility and review board (UARB) approves the increase, users will be charged a base rate of $81 annually as well as a consumption charge of $1.21 per cubic metre beginning in 2022.

Norman says saving money on your water bill is simple.

“If people want to reduce their bill, they find ways to reduce their water consumption.”

The mayor says the Region needs to address issues with their water infrastructure as the study estimates half the treated water is being lost through leakage.

“Our water treatment plant may be new but our pipes in the ground are 1890,” said Norman. “Which is why, when people wonder why we’re always digging up streets and doing things, we’re finding leakages.”

Norman expects the Region will make their case before the utility and review board sometime in January.

That hearing will be open and any member of the public is welcome to speak on the proposed rate increase at that time.

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