Roads and Sidewalks

Roads

Municipally-Owned Roads

The Municipality owns and maintains a number of roads. If you live on a municipal road and have a maintenance or repair issue, please contact the Infrastructure & Operation Department. Municipally-owned roads are:

Provincially-Owned Roads

Roads that are owned by the Province have a green, reflective road name sign. These roads are maintained by the Province, including plowing in the winter and repairs in the summer. If you live on a road owned by the Province, contact the Nova Scotia Department of Transportation & Infrastructure Renewal (NSTIR) with questions or concerns.

Service agreement

Some roads owned by the Province fall under a cost-shared service agreement between NS Transportation & Infrastructure Renewal and the Municipality. General maintenance - like snow plowing and filling potholes - falls under the responsibility of NSTIR. Outside of general maintenance, the Municipality is required to provide 50% of the project funding. Council prioritizes and submits a list of roads for repair to the Province for approval and scheduling. A list of those roads is on the right.

Privately-Owned Roads

Privately-owned roads have a white road name sign with black lettering. If your road is privately owned, it is not a municipal or provincial responsibility. You need to determine who the owner is or if there is a home owners’ association.

From time to time, residents request that the Municipality collect a "maintenance area rate" from all the residents living on that road. We collect the rate on their behalf and then remit it back to an association or person responsible on an annual basis. In this case, a petition must be submitted to the Municipality. All petition inquiries should be directed to the Finance & Information Services Department at 902-275-3554.

In some cases, residents would prefer that the Municipality assume responsibility of their private road. Before that can happen, the road must meet municipal specifications. Also, our Private Street Improvement & Maintenance By-law (#72) outlines the criteria for the Municipality to assume responsibility for a private road.

Sidewalks

The Municipality is responsible for sidewalks in these locations:

• Chester Basin
• Chester Village
• Hubbards
• Mill Cove
• New Ross
• Western Shore

Municipal Specifications

Municipal Specifications refer to municipal standards required for the construction of the following systems:

• Central and small sewer systems
• Central water systems
• Municipal public roads
• Storm drainage

In order for the Municipality to assume responsibility for any of the above systems, they must meet these specifications first and then be approved by Council.