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.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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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?”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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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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The Main and Market intersection in downtown Liverpool will be the subject of a traffic study by CBCL. (Rick Conrad file photo)

The Region of Queens will spend about $24,000 to do a traffic study of a downtown Liverpool intersection that has seen its share of collisions and close calls.

Last January, a 79-year-old woman was taken to hospital after being struck in the crosswalk at the intersection of Main and Market streets.

That reignited concern in the community about safety at the three-way stop.

Adam Grant, the region’s director of infrastructure, told council this week the intersection regularly has peak traffic volumes of 200 to 250 vehicles.

“Going back over the last year, we had lots of conversations regarding this intersection. Council’s concerns over the safety of it to pedestrian and motorists alike. We’ve been back and forth a few different times with reports, different analysis, different investigation.”

The previous council asked on Oct. 8 to issue a call for proposals for a traffic study of the area.

Grant said engineering firm CBCL could begin that work as early as Feb. 17. It will include looking at this intersection and others nearby, and installing cameras to monitor traffic and pedestrian movement. The firm will also interview pedestrians and motorists and use modelling software, and itt will look at projected traffic loads in the area.

He said it will be a broader study than one the region commissioned in 2015 from Insight Traffic Engineering.

Coun. Maddie Charlton said that many of the incidents seem to occur in one particular crosswalk, which runs from the post office to Five Girls Baking. 

“There have been numerous pedestrians struck on one crosswalk in particular in this area with the most recent being the worst. Luckily, the woman who was struck survive. But it is an ongoing issue, and … although there haven’t been an insane amount of pedestrians hit, I think one is too many. And so we need to address that.

“I’m uncertain about this study in one sense, because I don’t know if it’s going to solve the problem that we want it to solve. … I’m curious why we couldn’t just remove that crosswalk in that specific area, given that there are other substantial crosswalks in that area.”

Grant said he’s not a traffic expert and he’s unsure whether that would be the best solution. 

“I’m by far a traffic expert and I think that this study is a good investment to assure that we have a path forward to provide the paramount safety at that intersection. 

“Every leg of an intersection is considered a crosswalk. Where you have increased pedestrian movement, you delineate that by putting a sign up or painting it. I’m not aware of anywhere that would have a prohibited crosswalk from occurring. So I think to do something like that, we need to to go beyond who we have in this room to make that decision (and) provide some advice and do it cautiously to make sure that we’re getting the right solution, trying to solve the problem we understand.”

In his report, Grant detailed 36 reported incidents in the area from 2009 to 2024, according to information provided by the Nova Scotia government.

Five of those involved pedestrians being hit by cars in the crosswalk. Other pedestrians have reported or witnessed near-collisions at that intersection.

Grant said the main focus of the study will be how to improve pedestrian safety in that intersection.

Mayor Scott Christian said he understands Charlton’s desire to address the issue as quickly as possible.

“Certainly we want to be well informed with respect to making the decisions, certainly don’t want to drag our feet on it. I know that this was something that was batted about a bit in the past, and it is a priority concern to be addressed for public safety.”

The study will be funded from the region’s accumulated surplus of $6 million. Grant said the company could report back to council as early as May.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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photo Ed Halverson

Region of Queens Council packed a lot into their final meeting of the year.

Following a public meeting that took most of the morning, council voted against selling the South Shore Regional Airport. Instead, they will continue to operate the facility and will look to sign the Nova Scotia Drag Racers Association and the South Shore Flying Club to new leases.

Rumclo Developments Ltd and Van Der Pas design made a presentation proposing to build 124 units on 23 acres of waterfrontage at 133 Shore Road if the Region agrees to pick up the $1.5 million tab to extend water service to the development.

Council will weigh the proposal and make the decision as part of the upcoming annual budget process.

Representatives of Hillsview Acres Long Term Care home provided a yearly update. While all regular positions are filled, the facility is searching for part-time staff.

Queens Manor has been providing some assistance to Hillsview Acres.

Both facilities will be merged and replaced when the new Long Term Care Home is built and ready in four years.

A couple of items that have been bouncing around the latest agendas have been resolved.

Council accepted terms of reference for the new pool committee, voted down spending up to $10,000 towards the cost of creating a Bioeconomic Development Zone and will prioritize clearing shrubs that obstructs traffic at Market and Henry Hensey Drive.

Councillors Maddie Charlton and David Brown will sit on a committee to update the Region’s communications strategy.

Council also considered a Development Agreement that would allow a 7-unit short term rental building in Hunts Point to be converted to multi-unit residential housing.

A public hearing on the matter will be held in council chambers January 10.

Council agreed to replace a 2010 work truck that is past its useable life with a new ¾ ton for $75,000 plus tax.

The Region will write off almost $10,000 in uncollectable debt owed to the municipality to get it off the books.

Council received a staff report detailing when council could request a traffic study.

They were informed they could make the request when making an amendment to the Land Use Bylaw or when adopting a Development Agreement but generally the decision to trigger a traffic study is left to the engineer or planner of the traffic authority.

And finally, Region Staff will now be calling for the tow truck if a vehicle is impeding snow clearing operations.

RCMP informed the municipality they don’t have the available personnel to police those parking violations, but it is within the regions authority to do so.

The next council meeting will be held in council chambers starting at 9:00 am on January 10.

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Entrance to Region of Queens council chambers. Photo Ed Halverson

A pair of public hearings to determine land-use issues in Milton led into Tuesday’s Region of Queens council meeting.

The first was an application for a development agreement to allow Samantha Corner and Robie Leigh Murphy to establish an automobile repair shop at 16 Edward Street.

Several letters supporting the application were received and no one in the gallery rose to speak against.

In session, Council voted unanimously to enter the development agreement.

The second public hearing involved a zoning change to permit the construction of a multi-unit building on the former Garika land on the corner of Highway 8 and Bridge Street in Milton.

Several people rose to speak in opposition to the project citing road safety issues, loss of a public view of the river and the need for fire departments to have access to a dry well on site to fill trucks.

Mayor Darlene Norman says council discussed the fact the road is already at the lowest speed limit permitted of 50km/h and there are no passing lanes along that stretch of highway.

Norman also indicated Milton already has several public park areas including the outdoor pool and Pine Grove Park and is well serviced in that regard.

Norman says council listened to Planning and Development Director Mike MacLeod when he said fire department and public access to the site would be guaranteed when the sale agreement is finalized.

“Ensuring that there’s access for fire departments to that dry hydrant as well as there’s a public boat launch on that site and public access to that will also remain,” said Norman.

During the session council voted to allow the zoning changes by a margin of 6-2 with Councillors Brown and Fancy voting against.

Council started their session by approving a tender for bulk salt trucking.

They accepted a submission by Van Dyk Excavation and Trucking in the amount of $49.95 plus HST per metric tonne.

Director of Engineering & Public Works Adam Grant said every municipality across the province is experiencing large increases for salt delivery and Queens is no different as the $49.95 approved by council is roughly $8.50 per tonne higher than last year.

Next council voted to send the province the results of the Municipal Electoral Boundary review.

As previously reported, the review recommends keeping council composition the same with 7 councillors and one mayor but realigning the districts so the former Town of Liverpool will now only have representation from two councillors.

Council then approved a request from the South Queens Chamber of Commerce to allow alcohol consumption on municipal property as part of the Liverpool International Theatre Festival opening night festivities.

A review of job descriptions for public works employees was the next item on the agenda followed by a funding request from the Greenfield Community Park Society.

The organization is developing a community recreation area behind the Greenfield recreation centre and school, starting with a walking trail.

Council agreed to contribute $9,400 from the community investment fund to the project.

The two public hearing items were then discussed and decided before council voted on a new deputy mayor.

Councillor Jack Fancy was elected to serve in that role for the last two years of this council’s mandate. Fancy replaces outgoing Deputy Mayor, Kevin Muise.

The Deputy Mayor receives no additional pay and fills in for the mayor when they are unavailable.

In the discussion portion of the session, council received a report from staff on the Lost at Sea Memorial being proposed for Fort Point Park.

Staff raised concerns about disturbing underground infrastructure on the site and the removal of trees from the park.

Members of the Diversity and Inclusion team also recommended that proponents of the memorial consult with local Mi’kmaq regarding their inclusion on the memorial.

Council then discussed a request from Yarmouth Mayor Pam Mood asking Region of Queens to forward on to the province a letter of support for the Maine Ferry.

Finally, council added an agenda item to discuss whether traffic safety studies should be included by developers looking for permission to build in Queens.

Staff will contact other municipalities in Nova Scotia to determine what common practices are in place and bring a report back to council.

According to the Region’s Calendar, the next council meeting will be on the road in Port Medway.

The meeting will take place at the fire hall starting at 6:00pm.

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