Bridge St. ‘critical’ community link

BY NANCY KELLY

Kings County Register

Results of a Bridge Street traffic study conducted over the past few months in the Kingston/ Greenwood area will be up for discussion at a public meeting February 19 at the Kingston fire hall.

Mike Croft, traffic engineer with the Nova Scotia Department of Transportation, says the study, which focuses on the Bridge Street connector between the two villages and its feeder roads off 101 Highway exits 17 and 18, including Central Avenue; was conducted in response to public concerns.

Phases in the study have included a review of former traffic studies and existing and future land use along the Bridge Street corridor, data collection of traffic movements and consultations with stakeholders. Groups who have provided input into the study so far include the RCMP, the Kingston and District Fire Department, the villages of Kingston and Greenwood, the County of Kings and 14 Wing Greenwood. The issue of pedestrian and bicycle traffic was also examined, as was the structural soundness of the Bridge Street bridges.

The final report will be reviewed at the February 19 public meeting.

“Bridge Street is a critical link for all of these groups,” says Croft, adding homeowners living along the corridor studied would be advised to attend the meeting.

“Potential recommendations being discussed could impact them.”

The traffic study report will not be finalized until the public has had a chance to offer input.

“We will digest the information we receive (February 19) and incorporate it into the final recommendations," explains Croft.

Kingston Village Commission Chairman Murray Kinsman cites new residential and commercial growth and a steadily increasing population in the area as some of the reasons behind the need for the study.

“Intersections in the two villages are getting busier and more congested all the time.”

He is also looking to the report to help set ground rules for future development off the 101/ Bridge Street corridor. He points to traffic problems at the corner of Main Street and Maple Avenue following the addition of a small Tim Hortons outlet.

“In that case, the county gave the go-ahead to build, the (Department of) Highways gave driveway clearance and (the village) was left with the problems,” says Kinsman.

Croft says results of the study will also impact Greenwood residents.

“For them, Central Avenue and Bridge Street are the only routes via which traffic can access the 101 highway.”

The public meeting which will be attended by village, county and Department of Transportation representatives; gets underway at 7 p.m.