WEST HANTS, N.S. – On a windy, rainy night, Windsor and West Hants councils met at the West Hants Municipal building to go over a few topics.
Most of the items on the agenda were mostly germane, business-as-usual items like the Valley Regional Enterprise Network and the EHS Medical First Response Program.
But when the subject changed to roads, especially along the two municipal units’ borders, things heated up a bit.
Coun. Tanya Leopold said she has concerns about Payzant Drive in Windsor, where the Hants Community Hospital and Avon View High School are located.
She noted that the street has one way in and one way out, which could be problematic in emergency situations.
“Given the school climate that we live in today, you might think about events that might require evacuation,” she said. “I’m just wondering if we should be looking at reassembling the joint border committee?”
West Hants chief administrative officer Cathie Osborne said the committee still technically exists, but hasn’t met in some time.
Windsor chief administrative officer Louis Coutinho said a future roads plan is in place, with the option of Cole Drive being a part of that; however, Coutinho said that plan would require a large amount of investment and development to move ahead.
The former Joint Planning Committee was dissolved during the height of tensions between the town and the municipality.
An emergency gate was also planned for the high school to connect it to other nearby roads, but that hasn’t been installed yet either.
Councillors from West Hants and Windsor echoed Leopold’s concerns, saying they’d like to explore opportunities to make Payzant Drive more accessible.
“It’s not just safety, it’s also about ease,” Leopold said. “Another option to access the Town of Windsor, another option to access the municipality of West Hants. It would do great things for commuting.”
