Last night, Heatherton area resident Malcolm MacKinnon made a presentation to Antigonish County Council asking for council`s support in dealing with the province and its plans regarding the 104 twinning between Taylor`s Road and Paqtnkek, and what the potential changes will mean for Heatherton, the nearby community centre, and local residents.
Following the presentation, John Dunbar, councillor for District 7 which includes Heatherton, made a motion to support MacKinnon`s request to send a letter to provincial minister of public works Kim Masland, as well as local MLA Greg Morrow and Michelle Thompson, supporting the community of Heatherton`s desire to have on and off ramps as part of the twinning, to have a service road not connected to the Heatherton Village Road, and to ask the Department of Public Works to improve communications going forward with Heatherton residents.
After the meeting, Dunbar noted MacKinnon wanted to bring the issue to council`s attention, noting the changes proposed by the provincial government were going to have a devastating effect on the Heatherton Community Centre and the community. He said residents were looking for council`s support in looking at alternatives.
Last fall, Department of Public works hosted a community meeting at the Heatherton Community Centre to discuss plans for the twinning. It was at this point, said Dunbar, the province presented their plans for the local twinning, which included a tunnel to connect the two sides of the community. During his presentation, MacKinnon stated understands the province is no longer looking at a tunnel, added he hasn`t seen anything on paper yet.
The plan at the time called for the removal of exits 35 B, 36 and 36 A, with Trunk 4 re-established along this section, in part to connect local residents from secondary roads to the 104 at the interchanges and as a back-up in case of emergencies.
During his presentation, MacKinnon noted the catchment of Exit 36 includes 330 residences, farms, trucking companies, a post office, and several churches. He also had questions about what the changes will mean for the Heatherton Community Centre.