The Region of Queens is going to make Cameron’s Corner in Liverpool an all-way stop. (Rick Conrad)

Drivers in downtown Liverpool will soon encounter another three-way stop on Main Street.

The changes are being made at the intersection of Main and Old Port Mouton Road, commonly known as Cameron’s Corner. 

In response to concerns from residents and councillors about safety in the area, the region’s traffic authority plans to turn it into an all-way stop.

Another busy intersection, the three-way stop at Main and Market streets, has been the scene of many close calls between pedestrians and motorists over the years.

A report prepared by consultants CBCL in June 2024 suggested a different option at Cameron’s Corner. It recommended that Main Street be turned into a throughfare, with a stop sign on Old Port Mouton Road. They also suggested narrowing the east Main Street approach and realigning parts of the intersection.  

The intersection is a busy one. It has one stop sign on Main Street at the eastbound approach, but the traffic coming from Old Port Mouton Road has the right-of-way.

The consultants said that it’s more intuitive for drivers on Main Street to have the right of way, with motorists on the minor road approach of Old Port Mouton required to stop.

Adam Grant is the Region of Queens director of infrastructure. He’s also the municipality’s traffic authority.

He told councillors at their regular meeting last week that the changes suggested by CBCL would cost about $120,000, an expense not included in this year’s operating budget.

Grant said that that part of Main Street is going to be turned into a three-way stop anyway with the planned work on the $21-million Mount Pleasant services extension and housing development at the other end of Main. And CBCL’s other recommendations for realigning the intersection will be included.

“So the intention is, once it’s converted to an all-way stop, it would stay an all-way stop in perpetuity, unless it was determined through further analysis that it wasn’t necessary and that it could be reverted to a one-way stop control,” Grant said. “The geometry realignment would be incorporated into next year’s capital work, the all-way stop would stay in that mannerism.”

Councillors can make suggestions to the traffic authority, but traffic changes are an administrative matter.

Mayor Scott Christian told QCCR that with the water and sewer upgrades planned with the Mount Pleasant work next year, some of the consultants’ changes will happen anyway.

“I think it’s a good piece of decision making, not to rip up and change that sidewalk to then next year, rip it up when we’re replacing the water and sewer through there. 
So with the recommendations from the CBCL report, we’ll make those alterations to the curb when we do the water-sewer work.”

Grant told councillors that Cameron’s Corner will be turned into an all-way stop this fall, with the appropriate signage to give drivers advance notice of an upcoming stop. He said the region will also let people know through social media in the next few weeks.

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A traffic study presented to Region of Queens council in July concluded that traffic lights are not needed at the Main and Market intersection in downtown Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)

A Liverpool resident wants the Region of Queens to do a more comprehensive study of safety at a busy downtown intersection.

Paul Deveau says a recent look at traffic at Main and Market streets was insufficient.

“Is the current configuration of this intersection safe?” he told councillors during the public comment portion of Tuesday’s regular council meeting.

“A proper risk assessment survey conducted at this intersection would be done under the worst-case scenario, or optimum or peak usage, when both vehicle and pedestrian traffic are at their highest. It would look at not just volume, but the behaviour of the traffic, such as the percentage of the vehicles not coming to a complete stop or a rolling stop, but also look at pedestrians, and if they’re stopping or looking before crossing.”

The three-way stop is one of the most heavily travelled intersections in Liverpool. And it’s seen its share of collisions and near-misses.

It’s viewed by many as one of the most dangerous areas for pedestrians in downtown Liverpool.

Councillors voted this past February to spend $24,000 on the traffic study after a crosswalk collision in January 2024 sent a 79-year-old woman to hospital.

An earlier study was done in 2015. No significant changes were made at that time.

Consultants CBCL presented their findings to councillors on July 8. They concluded that the intersection could handle current traffic volumes without extra measures like traffic lights.

Paul Deveau spoke to regional council on Tuesday about the Main and Market intersection. (YouTube)

Deveau, who ran as a candidate in the 2024 municipal elections, said he looked at similar studies done in 50 other Canadian municipalities and they were all conducted in either early spring or late fall. He questioned why this study was conducted in February.

He said that on July 7, as he was sitting outside Main and Mersey Dining Room and Coffee Bar on Main Street, he counted 232 vehicles in about 25 minutes travelling toward the three-way stop. That was higher than the 119 total morning trips observed by the consultants and the 148 total afternoon trips.

“Why do an assessment on traffic in one of the slowest months of the year?” he told councillors.

“It only looked at the traffic volume with the assumption that the people using that intersection would behave in a manner that is predictable and by the letter of the law. This council already knows that they do not. So my question to the council is this, will the council conduct a comprehensive risk assessment on that intersection or stick with the bare minimum and use the current half-measure results to make a decision?”

Mayor Scott Christian said after the meeting that in response to Deveau’s concerns, he’s going to ask for an update on the intersection at Main and Market streets.

“And so I’ll be looking for some further information from staff on that one.”

Deveau told councillors he hopes they take a more robust look at safety in the area.

“So when an accident happens again at this intersection, not if, but when, is this the justification that you want to stand for not making a change? 
Is this what you want to tell the next person whose life could be forever altered or their family, that you did what you could do with the information provided? What if the next person was your family member?”

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A consultants report does not recommend installing traffic lights at the Main and Market intersection in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)

A study of the troublesome three-way stop in downtown Liverpool has found traffic isn’t that bad and that it doesn’t warrant installing traffic lights.

Engineering firm CBCL presented its findings to council this week about the intersection at Main and Market streets.

“We found overall that the intersection has sufficient capacity for the current traffic volumes and the future traffic volumes with the current stop control configuration. We found that the traffic signals are not warranted,” David Copp, a transportation engineer with CBCL who conducted the on-site traffic study in February, told councillors at their regular meeting Tuesday.

Copp said that opinions about the intersection are mixed. While some pedestrians and business owners believe there’s no problem, others told him it is hazardous.

“There was a number of folks who identified that cars or trucks were not yielding to pedestrians. They were sort of blasting through the stop signs and just ignoring any pedestrians who were waiting. 
There definitely seems to be a bit of a lack of trust on the part of the pedestrian that vehicles will actually stop where they’re supposed to when they approach the intersection.”

Collision data for the area is very limited. There have been 36 reported collisions within a 100-metre radius from 2009 to 2024. Most of those were vehicle collisions. Five of them involved pedestrians.

“So it made it very challenging to draw any conclusions or highlight trends or causation between these incidents,” he said.

Overall, the study found traffic flow and vehicle speeds were within acceptable limits. And it also found that five new housing developments planned for the Mount Pleasant area just outside downtown Liverpool won’t make volumes a problem in the next 10 years.

Copp said some changes could make the area safer for pedestrians.

He said combining the through and right-turning westbound lanes at the post office on Main Street would shorten the crosswalk there and improve visibility.

There would still be an issue of cars entering and leaving the angled parking spaces next to the post office. He said most of the collisions in the area were related to those spaces and that council should consider removing or reconfiguring them.

Councillors voted this past February to spend $24,000 on the traffic study after a crosswalk collision in January 2024 sent a 79-year-old woman to hospital.

The intersection has been the scene of lots of close calls over the years.

District 5 Coun. Jack Fancy said he doesn’t believe combining westbound lanes on Main Street is enough to protect pedestrians.

“We’ve had people hit and I think due diligence, if we just walk away from this and say we’re going to combine those two lanes, I don’t think we’re doing our job,” he said.

“I can live with the car to car (collisions), you can fix those. Car to pedestrians, you can’t fix. 
So I think the car to pedestrian is our biggest concern.”

He wants to see some kind of pedestrian-activated signal to alert drivers when somebody wants to cross.

District 4 Coun. Vicki Amirault said the intersection and the sidewalk approaches have to be improved to be more accessible for people with visual, hearing or mobility impairments.

“It’s very scary to go through that intersection for pedestrians, very scary. So I think there’s a lot of work we have to do there, and if it doesn’t warrant traffic lights, maybe put up the lights for the signals for the pedestrians. 
But I think this is a situation where we really have to do a lot of a lot more conversation, a lot more work. We just cannot leave it the way it is.”

Deputy Mayor Maddie Charlton told QCCR after the meeting that even though the traffic count was done in February, when numbers would be typically lower, she said it still gives a good baseline for council to consider.

“And so our conversation with that particular intersection, I think, is far from over, and we should consider if there’s any improvements that we can make to the parking there (at the post office), how we make that the best it can be, given the information that was presented today.”

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Ryan MacLean with UPLAND Planning and Design Studio takes people through the options regarding a proposed change to how residential developments are handled in downtown Liverpool. (Rick Conrad/File)

It was a small group, but an opinionated one.

Some Queens County business owners and residents who responded to a survey don’t want a bylaw change that could dramatically alter Liverpool’s Main Street commercial landscape.

Developer Eric Fry of SDL Investments Limited wants the Region of Queens to amend its land use bylaw to allow him to build a 16-unit apartment building in the old Stedmans space at 194 Main St.

The bylaw allows residential development downtown only in buildings with a primary commercial use.

Fry doesn’t plan any commercial presence in the building. So he applied to the region in February to change the bylaw.

The region held public engagement sessions on June 17 and 19 for business owners and residents. It also created an online feedback form that was available from June 12 to 24.

Consultants UPLAND Planning of Halifax conducted the sessions and survey. 

​​The public had three options to consider: to allow residential developments in the commercial district as a main use by right, to allow them by development agreement which would require council approval, or to stay with the status quo and reject any amendments to the bylaw.

In their report for this week’s regular council meeting, UPLAND said seven people who weren’t members of the region’s planning advisory committee, the media or council attended the engagement sessions at Queens Place Emera Centre.

Thirty people replied to the online survey. Nineteen of those said they live in Liverpool, while 17 said they live in another part of Queens County.

Eighteen of the 30 respondents said they were either fully or somewhat supportive of changing the bylaw to remove the commercial requirement.

Ten were either fully or somewhat against it.

But 90 per cent of the business owners who responded were against a bylaw change. They said they were concerned about eroding the commercial area.

Half of the business owners said they would support standalone residential use by development agreement. And 40 per cent said they wanted no change to the current bylaw.

Many people were concerned that there seems to be no vision or strategic plan for Main Street or downtown Liverpool. They want to see a plan driven by the community, not by developers.

Some were also frustrated by the lack of communication from the region about the proposal, the engagement sessions or the survey. 

And the consultants found that there was a divide between those who want to see more housing downtown and those who want to preserve Main Street as a commercial zone. 

Councillors are due to discuss the report at Tuesday morning’s council meeting, which begins at 9.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Region of Queens councillors are trying to address concerns about safety at Cameron’s Corner in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)

Region of Queens councillors want municipal staff to investigate another hazardous intersection in Liverpool.

Coun. Courtney Wentzell brought up complaints from constituents this week about the intersection at Cameron’s Corner.

“It’s an accident waiting to happen that could very well be life-threatening,” Wentzell told his fellow councillors at Tuesday’s regular council meeting.

The intersection is a busy one, at the corner of Main Street and Old Port Mouton Road, which connects with White Point Road. It has one stop sign on Main Street, but the traffic coming from Old Port Mouton Road has the right-of-way.

“People are speeding, coming from Main Street towards Milton,” Wentzell said.

“
They’re not signalling. They’re going way too fast. There’s confusion, people coming from White Point, especially if they don’t live here. 
They don’t know if they should stop, if they should turn left, if they should turn right. They’re not looking to see if somebody is crossing on that crosswalk, the line of sight is absolutely horrific.”

Wentzell said that when he was campaigning in October 2024, he heard lots of concerns about the area. He’s referred those to the police advisory board, but he appealed to councillors to do more to address it.

“I was berated pretty badly here a week, two weeks ago that nothing is taking place. There was a near-miss, a lady was almost struck on that corner, trying to cross the crosswalk.”

Mayor Scott Christian said he finds the intersection challenging too.

“Ever since I moved to this community, that intersection has always kind of concerned me. … I think it would make sense for us to try to do something to address it.”

Councillors voted to refer it to the region’s traffic authority to investigate and return with a staff report with recommendations. They also wanted to know whether the Nova Scotia government would have to be involved since it may include a provincial roadway.

In February, councillors voted to spend about $24,000 on a traffic study at the three-way stop near the post office on Main Street.

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Eric and Dawn Fry are hoping to build 16 apartments in the old Stedmans building on Main Street in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)

A developer is hoping to turn an old storefront on Liverpool’s Main Street into apartments.

Eric and Dawn Fry of Fall River bought 194 Main St. in January and hope to turn it into 16 one-bedroom and two-bedroom rental units.

Eric Fry told QCCR that they applied a few weeks ago to the Region of Queens to allow for apartments on the ground floor. The region’s land use bylaws permit residential units on Main Street only in buildings with a commercial storefront.

“We would rather see it as 100 per cent residential because there’s more of a need in that area for residential than for additional commercial space because there’s a fair amount of vacant commercial space on Main Street.”

The property is known locally as the old Stedmans building. Before it was bought by the Frys, it sat vacant for a few years and was heavily damaged by extreme weather. And before that, it housed a dollar store and office space on the ground floor.

Fry said Tuesday that they’re also planning indoor parking, which would be accessed on the Water Street side at the back of the building.

“We’re hoping that there won’t be any or too much opposition to what we’re trying to do because we know that there’s a need for housing there and I think this would lend itself nicely. … So it could be a pretty desirable development when it’s completed.”

Tenants recently moved into the couple’s other development, The Falls in Milton, located on the Mersey River. That building is full and targeted to people 55 and over.

This new development would be marketed to a more mixed demographic. Fry says he hopes to attract health care or other professionals. And two or three units could qualify as affordable housing.

According to Viewpoint, the 30,000-square-foot building sold for $235,000 after almost a year on the market. Fry said it’s too early to estimate the budget for the project or what the rents will be. 

“The two criteria that I typically use are location and potential. And I think that’s got both in spades. It’s very central and a lot of potential. It took a little creativity with our design team and our construction manager to work through a feasible plan, in order to make it all accessible. We’ll be adding windows and skylights for the upper units. We think it’s really going to begin to transform Main Street, so we’re excited about it.”

They’re working with a partner on the project and have named their company SDL Developments, as an homage to the building’s former life as a Stedmans department store.

While they wait to see how their application goes with the municipality, Fry said workers have been cleaning up debris inside the building. 

He said he and his wife wanted to invest in the community after they bought a cottage in Port Mouton in 2015 and fell in love with the area.

“We’re not trying to disrupt anything or upset the apple cart. My wife and I have lots of great relationships in Liverpool and we’ve gotten to know a lot of folks in the municipality and we love it. What we’ve done with The Falls in Milton would be frankly representative of the type of approach we would take, very open and communicative with the public and a quality product that people can be proud to call home.”

Fry said that if their application with the municipality succeeds, they hope to begin construction by the end of June. 

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This is all that’s left of the historic Hendry House at 89 Main St. in Liverpool after a fire in May. (Rick Conrad)

The owner of an abandoned house on Main Street in Liverpool that burned down in May has seven days to clean up the site.

If she doesn’t clean it up or appeal the order within seven days, the Region of Queens will do it for her and charge her for the cost of the cleanup.

Councillors voted on Tuesday to declare the property dangerous and unsightly and to clean it up.

According to Nova Scotia property records, 89 Main St. is owned by Rosemarie Jacob, who owns 13 other properties in Liverpool, Brooklyn, Italy Cross, Lunenburg Co., and East Baccaro, Shelburne Co.

Only two addresses are listed for Jacob in property records. One is a post office box in Brooklyn. The other is a PO box in Liverpool.

Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman said Tuesday the owner is hard to find.

“Staff have used every avenue they have to contact the owner. However, unfortunately, that owner leaves very little contact information. We have simply been unable to contact the owner.”

The house at 89 Main St. caught fire overnight on May 13. The Liverpool Fire Department eventually got it under control, but the structure had to be torn down.

It was unoccupied at the time of the fire. 

Since then, the municipality has fenced off the property. But none of the debris from the fire has been cleaned up. 

There’s still a slight acrid, charred smell around the property from the fire.

A screenshot from Google Streetview from 2014 of 89 Main St. in Liverpool.

According to local historian Tim MacDonald, the historic house was built in 1893 and was once owned by former Liverpool mayor, ship owner and businessman A.W. Hendry. 

Liverpool Fire Chief Trevor Munroe told QCCR on Tuesday that they’ve finished their initial investigation and passed it on to Queens District RCMP.

He said there was no power at the property, so it’s unclear how the fire started. That’s why the RCMP are investigating. 

“It could be suspicious, it could not be suspicious,” he said in an interview. “But it could be something as simple as a cigarette if someone was moving the grass or something like that.”

An RCMP spokesman said Tuesday the investigation is still ongoing.

Mike MacLeod, the director of planning and development for the region, told councillors on Tuesday that the municipality has received a number of complaints about cleaning up the site.

QCCR is trying to find the owner for comment. If we are able to reach her, we will update this story.

According to property records, Rosemarie Jacob bought the house in 2002 from Erwin Keller of A & I Keller Investments Limited.

Before that, it was owned by the McConnell family from 1973 to 1999.

Council voted on Tuesday to give Jacob seven days to clean it up. Unless she appeals the order by June 18, the municipality will do it and charge the cost as a lien against the property.

Norman says it’s an issue of public safety.

“In the absence of an owner, we are moving ahead with the motion made today. Seven days to file an appeal and if we do not hear from the owner by June 18, then we will be moving ahead and cleaning up the property.”

Another property owned by Jacob that appears to have been abandoned is on Court Street. That’s just off Main Street and behind the former Mersey Hotel, which is itself in bad shape but is currently occupied by various residential tenants.

Jacob also bought the Court Street house in 2002 from A & I Keller Investments.

Norman said she couldn’t comment on the Court Street property or any other Queens County properties owned by Jacob. 

“Our bylaw officer has many files that she is presently working on. I cannot comment on the one you’ve made, however, there are various properties that are going to be coming forward to council.”

If Jacob appeals the order, the municipality will schedule a public hearing.

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Region of Queens councillors will again discuss traffic safety in downtown Liverpool, at their regular meeting on Tuesday. (Rick Conrad)

Traffic concerns, a heritage property and money for community groups are some of the issues Queens County councillors will be discussing on Tuesday at their regular council meeting.

At their April 23 meeting, councillors wanted more study of traffic safety issues in downtown Liverpool.

They voted to defer a decision on whether to install orange crosswalk flags at the three-way stop at Main and Market streets. Staff did not support that idea. But councillors plan to discuss it again on Tuesday. 

Councillors also plan to consider a motion on Tuesday to spend $1,000 on a traffic study on Main Street, from School Street to Riverside Drive near Fort Point Lighthouse Park. 

This was after a petition from residents in November, urging the region to lower speed limits in the area and to create a four-way stop at the Main and School Street intersection. Residents want the current 50 km/h limit lowered to 40.

At their April 23 meeting, councillors heard from Adam Grant, the region’s director of engineering and public works. He said an outside consultant in February studied municipal roads that might meet the provincial criteria for lowering the speed limit to below 50.

That work found that 85 per cent of the traffic on the section of Main Street from School down to the park was already topping out at 42 km/h.

Grant told councillors it would cost $35,000 to hire a traffic consultant to study the feasibility of a four-way stop at Main and School streets.

The municipality also plans to use three mobile speed feedback signs to help with lowering speed in the area.

Mayor Darlene Norman summarized Grant’s report.

“We can let the petitioners know that it is possible to reduce the speed from School east to Main. We are going to continue to do the investigation to reduce speed in that area. … We are doing three speed feedback signs, so that’s speed calming, which we can place in other areas.”

Staff are recommending that council spend the $1,000 to study the section of Main Street from School Street to the park. But they are not recommending crosswalk flags at the three-way stop on Main Street.

Councillors will also vote on Tuesday on requests from 18 non-profit groups for operational, capital or event funding through the region’s community investment fund. 

Another 16 groups applied for funding of less than $1,000 each. Those requests do not require council’s approval. Staff assess those applications. If councillors approve the requests, the region will be giving $147,858.64 to community groups around Queens County.

And the Medway Area Heritage Society is applying for a municipal heritage designation for Seely Hall in Port Medway. 

Built as a general store, warehouse and shipping office in the mid-1800s by the family of privateer Caleb Seely, the building is now used for community events, such as the Medway Head Lighthouse Art and Craft Show every summer.

The region’s heritage advisory committee recommended the property for heritage designation. It said the role of the building as a community hall and general store and the prominence of the Seely family is of great historical significance to the area.

Council meets at 9 a.m. on Tuesday in council chambers on White Point Road. You can also watch the proceedings live on the Region of Queens Facebook page or YouTube channel.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

The front entrance of the Town Hall Arts and Cultural Centre, home of the Astor Theatre, will be closed for the next two weeks. (Rick Conrad)

The front entrance of the Town Hall Arts and Cultural Centre, home of the Astor Theatre, on Main Street in Liverpool will be closed for the next two weeks.

The Region of Queens is doing some work on the front facade of the building.

The accessible entrance at the rear of the building will be open.

The work was expected to begin on Monday.

Region of Queens councillors plan to ask RCMP to step up enforcement efforts at the three-way stop at Main and Market streets in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)

Queens County councillors grappled with traffic safety in downtown Liverpool at their meeting on Tuesday evening.

The intersection at Main and Market streets has been the scene of some close calls between motorists and pedestrians. And in January, a 79-year-old woman was hit in the crosswalk and taken to hospital in Bridgewater. A driver was charged with failing to yield to a pedestrian in a marked crosswalk.

The incident reignited concern in the community about that intersection and others in town. Councillors heard from their constituents that they needed to address safety in that area.

Some residents want the municipality to install pedestrian-controlled crosswalk lights.

At their Jan. 23 meeting, councillors asked staff to review previous reports and studies about that intersection and come back with recommendations. They also asked staff to investigate adding fluorescent orange flags at that intersection for pedestrians to use while they cross.

On Tuesday evening, some councillors were in favour of trying the flags, while others were opposed. It would cost $1,050 to put the flags at each of the three corners of the intersection. The idea has been used in the Halifax region at many crosswalks, but not at those controlled by stop signs. 

Adam Grant, the region’s director of engineering and public works, said he spoke with the community group in Halifax behind those flags. 

The citizens’ group Crosswalk Safety Society of Nova Scotia began putting the orange flags at intersections in 2008 after a teenager was killed in a Dartmouth crosswalk. According to the group’s website, it got approval from the province in 2011 to allow crosswalk flags on provincial roads. They are now found in Hubbards, Hantsport, Aylesford, Berwick, New Ross, Bridgewater, Chester and Windsor.

Grant said the reception to them in the Halifax region is mixed. And he told councillors there is no evidence that installing the flags at Main and Market would improve pedestrian safety.

“I don’t feel comfortable consenting to the installation, quite frankly, as the traffic authority.

“Any time we introduce anything to a situation which doesn’t have a clear and direct guideline with substantiated evidence determined by professionals, we’re introducing liability. For me to suggest putting these in place will improve safety when I don’t know they will would be contradictory to my intent.”

Councillors decided to defer the flag discussion to a later date.

Grant said that pedestrian-controlled lights at the intersection could interrupt traffic flow and create more problems. He said it’s unusual to install the lights at a three-way stop.

A 2015 study by Insight Traffic Engineering did not recommend installing lights at the intersection. Instead, it suggested changing some signage, remove any trees or greenery obstructing visibility and moving the stop sign and crosswalk from the western approach on Main Street.

The study found that existing traffic control wasn’t an issue, though it did recommend council at the time ask Queens District RCMP to step up enforcement.

Grant told councillors Tuesday that conditions at the intersection haven’t changed since that 2015 report, and that there was no increase in the rate of collisions over the past 10 years, according to the RCMP.

Mayor Darlene Norman suggested leaving the issue for the next council to tackle after municipal elections in October.

District 6 Coun. David Brown said he’d like the region’s police advisory board to discuss increased enforcement with the RCMP at their next meeting, likely in late May.

“It sounds more like a compliance issue,” Brown said.

“Once you make an example of a few peole and word gets out that there are potential fines for jaywalking or entering the intersection illegally when you’re driving, word will get around and pepole will take the extra time and look at what they’re doing.” 

Norman said she believes that’s a good idea, and that police need to keep up the enforcement efforts for many days, and at all times of the day.

“And fines. Not warnings, but fines for rolling stops, for all of those things, because it might be the pedestrian once in a while who darts out, but it’s often the vehicle driver.”

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Region of Queens councillors are looking for ways to improve safety at the intersection at Main and Market streets in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad photo)

By Rick Conrad

Councillors at the Region of Queens want something done to address pedestrian safety at the three-way stop in downtown Liverpool.

The intersection at Main and Market streets has seen its share of collisions and close calls. 

On Monday, a 79-year-old woman was hit in the crosswalk and taken to South Shore Regional Hospital in Bridgewater. RCMP said her injuries were not life-threatening. A driver was charged with failing to yield to a pedestrian in a marked crosswalk.

The incident reignited concern in the community about the safety of that intersection and others in town.

At its meeting on Tuesday, council voted to have staff review previous studies and reports and come back with recommendations to make the three-way stop safer.

“I understand the frustrations,” Mayor Darlene Norman said Wednesday in an interview.

“Over my years of driving, I have been on both sides of that coin,” as a pedestrian and as a motorist.

According to minutes from a July 2019 meeting, the previous council had rejected the idea of crosswalk lights. It would have cost $27,000. 

Then-CAO Chris McNeill told councillors that it was staff’s opinion that installing lights “will not improve safety or eliminate pedestrians’ inattention when crossing the intersection”.

Instead, councillors at the time decided to post a “no left turn” sign for post office parking, remove any trees or shrubbery obstructing visibility, and asking the Queens District RCMP to step up enforcement, including traffic stops during peak hours.

A 2015 study by Insight Traffic Engineering recommended changing some signage, moving the stop sign and crosswalk from the western approach on Main Street, and moving the sidewalk shrubbery and furniture.

The study concluded that existing traffic control wasn’t an issue. 

Leanne Arnott, owner of nearby Five Girls Baking, said this week after the most recent incident that pedestrian-controlled lights should be installed.

“In other cities where I have lived with pedestrian-controlled crosswalks they seem to have been very effective and very useful and I think that in this situation that would be a good thing to have here.”

Arnott said she’s happy that council is going to address the issue, but that they should also involve the community in their discussions.

Norman said Wednesday that councillors have heard many ideas — from full traffic lights to having orange flags available at each corner for pedestrians to carry as they cross.

She said they will consider all options and wait for staff to come back with a report. 

“Council places public safety first. I do not believe this council would ever make a decision not to do something because of the cost.”

She said she personally supports installing accessible pedestrian signals, which include lights and sound when a pedestrian chooses to cross. But it is ultimately council’s decision.

Still, Norman said, it’s the responsibility of pedestrians and motorists to be careful in all intersections. 

“So while council can do everything in its power, be it installation of traffic lights, basically it boils down to pedestrians and those driving the vehicles using safety as a No. 1 factor when going through intersections.”

Norman said they’ve heard from residents about other areas in Liverpool where safety is a problem, such as the intersection at Queens Place Drive.

And in November, residents of Main and School streets submitted a petition to council, urging the region to lower speed limits in the area and to create a four-way stop at the intersection.

Councillors also asked staff to study those and other areas that need attention.

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RCMP were at the scene of a crash in the crosswalk at Main and Market streets in Liverpool on Monday morning. (Rick Conrad photo)

By Rick Conrad

A 79-year-old woman was taken to South Shore Regional Hospital on Monday morning after she was hit in the crosswalk at Main and Market streets in Liverpool.

The collision occurred at 11:21 a.m., an RCMP spokesman said. The woman’s injuries are not life-threatening.

Police have charged a driver with failing to yield to a pedestrian in a marked crosswalk.

The three-way stop at the corner of Main and Market streets has seen collisions and close calls before.

Leanne Arnott, owner of Five Girls Baking, said she has witnessed some of them.

“In fact, I myself have had a very close call,” she said Monday. “That was a couple of years ago and I was three-quarters of the way through the intersection when somebody decided not to stop and I actually had to put my hands on the hood of their car and jump back before they ran me over.”

She did not see Monday’s incident, but noticed emergency personnel tending to the woman, who was lying on the street.

Arnott said the intersection is unsafe and the municipality should install pedestrian-controlled lights to help alert drivers.

“As a business owner, watching this intersection daily, it is not safe. And I think if you were to ask anybody who lives around here, walks around here or even drives through the intersection on a regular basis, you’ll be told that this intersection is absolutely not safe.”

She said she’s worried more people will get hurt if something isn’t done soon.

A spokesperson for the municipality was not available to comment Monday.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the Jan. 22 news update below

Residents are petitioning council to lower the speed limit along Liverpool’s Main St between Court St and Fort Point Park. Photo Google Maps

Some residents of Main Street in Liverpool are calling on the municipality to lower the speed limit on one end.

At Tuesday’s council meeting two petitions were received asking to reduce the speed limit on Main Street from 50 km/h to 40 km/h between Court Street and the Fort Point Park.

Well over 100 residents and businesses signed the petitions raising concerns about safety for both drivers and pedestrians as the reason to reduce the speed.

Mayor Darlene Norman says because the Region of Queens own the road in the former Town of Liverpool, they have the authority to lower the speed limits. But before that can happen, a traffic study would need to be undertaken to determine if reducing the speed limit will make the area safer.

“We’ve directed staff to look at the costs involved,” said Norman. “Because one of the criteria for this would be you have to have a traffic study done by an outside agency that can show that because of traffic calming devices that you’ve installed and other things, that a large percentile of the people that travel will obey that reduced speed limit.”

Staff will look into the cost of a traffic study as well as what other traffic calming measures may be effective in that situation.

That information will be presented in a report to council at an upcoming meeting.

To hear the interview with Mayor Norman regarding reducing the speed limit on Liverpool’s Main Street click play below.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com

Entrance to Region of Queens council chambers. Photo Ed Halverson

Tuesday’s Region of Queens Council meeting began with a couple of petitions to address speeding on Main Street in Liverpool.

Council moved the item to discussions and decided to have staff look into the costs and process of lowering the speed limit from 50km/h to 40 km/h at the far end of Main Street ending at Fort Point Rd.

Moving to the recommendations portion of the agenda, staff recommended reappointing three members of the Planning advisory committee to their current positions. Members can serve either a one- or two-year term. The intention of the policy is to stagger the appointments, so the entire committee isn’t replaced at one time.

Next council heard a recommendation to waive tipping fees for a property that has fallen into disrepair since the previous owner died in 2001. Her beneficiaries have agreed to cover the cost of demolition but as they are on a limited budget they are asking the municipality to forgive the tipping fees. Council will vote on the recommendation to waive the $700 charge at their next meeting.

A request to enter into a development agreement to expand what is currently two short- term rental units in Summerville into seven units was denied as council and staff felt the number of structures would be too much for a parcel of land which is only 26,5000 square feet in size.

Council appointed two new representatives to the new Police Advisory Board. North Queens will be represented by Donald Kimball and South Queens will be served by Elaina Gaetan.

The Diversity and Inclusion Action Team also added a new member as council approved Tammy Conway-Denning. She brings over twenty years’ experience working with vulnerable and diverse populations to the position.

The long-discussed new outdoor pool was next on the agenda. Council was presented with a site plan based on the criteria they had previously established including a six-lane competitive pool, seating for spectators, a thermal pool and a zero-entry side. The cost to fulfil the wish list comes in at $8.22 million.

Council directed staff to proceed with the next steps of developing an estimated operating budget including expenses and revenue; a financial plan including possible funding models and grant opportunities for the current capital cost deficit; construction procurement options; and to obtain further Project Management services.

The last recommendation was to provide the Hunts Point Community Hall Association with $6,139 from the Community Investment Fund to install a new roof.

In the discussion portion of the meeting Council received a report to improve the heating system at the Town Hall Arts and Cultural Centre, home of the Astor Theatre. Theatre personnel have applied for federal funding to offset the cost of installing a new HVAC system.

Council then directed municipal staff to work alongside theatre group to determine what work will be performed and how it is to be funded.

The next Region of Queens Council meeting will be held November 28 at 6:00pm in Council Chambers.

To hear the broadcast of this story click play below.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com