K class roads
A list of K class roads (delisted roads?) could not be located.
The following excerpt is a conversation from the Nova Scotia legislature Hansard reports for May 14, 2008 during which the MLAs were considering the estimates of the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal when the Assembly is in the Committee of the Whole and members of the Opposition are allotted time to question the minister. (During this time the minister has key members of staff to assist in the explanation oft he numbers or policies related to the estimates). Nova Scotia Legislature - Hansard Transcript (nslegislature.ca)
MR. GAUDET: I want to move to another area. I want to talk about the K-roads. Some government roads, especially located in rural Nova Scotia, have been delisted from receiving maintenance work from the department. These K-class roads receive limited work, if any at all, that is carried out by the department. I am sure I am not the only one who is receiving requests from individuals who are living on some of these K-class roads, asking the department to carry out some work on these delisted roads. So my first question to the minister is, how do roads get delisted and classified as K-class roads?
MR. SCOTT: Mr. Chairman, I have only been in the department about six months now so certainly it predates me and it predates my colleague in regard to when this would happen. Actually, we understand the last road that would have been delisted in Nova Scotia would have been in 1984, or earlier. I can tell you that there have been none delisted since then. So what process was used prior to that, I don't know. I know there are roads, I have them in my own constituency, that are the type of roads the honourable member talks about. I get a lot of requests, as an MLA, to try to have the department provide some sort of service. I am sure that the honourable member would agree, obviously I believe that back then those roads were delisted because they weren't used. There were no longer any homes on them. There was really no need, I guess, at that point, to service to those roads. I am only assuming this.
Presently, there would have to be a request to myself, as minister, to delist a road, and I haven't had any since I have been here, and my understanding is there haven't been any for years. I don't know what the process was prior, but I can tell you that the process now is they would have to come through us, and we haven't received any since the time I have been here. Again, we are talking about roads, I believe, that would no longer be inhabited; there would no longer be homes on them; they would no longer be used for any type of work; and I suppose, over the years, the department no longer provided service because it wasn't needed.
MR. GAUDET: Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the minister for that information. Since I have been involved in politics, I keep getting calls making reference to K-class roads but I've never asked or found out, you know, where they come from, how the roads get delisted and added on to this list. I know for a fact, Mr. Minister, there are a few K-class roads in Clare where there are people living on these roads. I guess my next question to the minister is, does the department spend any funding on carrying out work on K-class roads?
MR. SCOTT: Mr. Chairman, the area manager would have the ability and discretion, within his or her own budget, to spend up to $1,000 on a K-class road but, again, I just want to reiterate that I think that K-class roads - and I'm not sure of the ones the member is talking about - but certainly K-class roads where there are no longer any homes, it's not used for any type of service, it wouldn't make sense for the department to spend scarce budget dollars on maintaining roads that really are not used by anyone. Obviously, the member mentioned earlier that some of these roads that he's talking about do have homes on them, but the answer is the area manager would have some discretion, within their own budget, but for K-class roads, it would only be up to $1,000.
MR. GAUDET: I guess the reason I was asking that question, I have one individual who has a home in St. Alphonse. It's on the Bear Cove Road. It's a K-class road and every winter, especially when the snow starts coming down, they usually call, you know, is it possible for the department staff to come and plow us out? I know a few years ago they were covered with snow and I know that the department staff did actually go in and try to help them to move the snow around. So I'm glad to hear that, maybe through the area supervisor, there might be some funding to help on these special types of requests.
A list of K class roads could not be located but the May 14, 2008 Nova Scotia Legislature Hansard Archives includes the following conversation:
Nova Scotia Legislature - Hansard Transcript (nslegislature.ca)
The following excerpt is a conversation from the Nova Scotia legislature Hansard reports for May 14, 2008 during which the MLAs were considering the estimates of the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal when the Assembly is in the Committee of the Whole and members of the Opposition are allotted time to question the minister. (During this time the minister has key members of staff to assist in the explanation oft he numbers or policies related to the estimates). Nova Scotia Legislature - Hansard Transcript (nslegislature.ca)
MR. GAUDET: I want to move to another area. I want to talk about the K-roads. Some government roads, especially located in rural Nova Scotia, have been delisted from receiving maintenance work from the department. These K-class roads receive limited work, if any at all, that is carried out by the department. I am sure I am not the only one who is receiving requests from individuals who are living on some of these K-class roads, asking the department to carry out some work on these delisted roads. So my first question to the minister is, how do roads get delisted and classified as K-class roads?
MR. SCOTT: Mr. Chairman, I have only been in the department about six months now so certainly it predates me and it predates my colleague in regard to when this would happen. Actually, we understand the last road that would have been delisted in Nova Scotia would have been in 1984, or earlier. I can tell you that there have been none delisted since then. So what process was used prior to that, I don't know. I know there are roads, I have them in my own constituency, that are the type of roads the honourable member talks about. I get a lot of requests, as an MLA, to try to have the department provide some sort of service. I am sure that the honourable member would agree, obviously I believe that back then those roads were delisted because they weren't used. There were no longer any homes on them. There was really no need, I guess, at that point, to service to those roads. I am only assuming this.
Presently, there would have to be a request to myself, as minister, to delist a road, and I haven't had any since I have been here, and my understanding is there haven't been any for years. I don't know what the process was prior, but I can tell you that the process now is they would have to come through us, and we haven't received any since the time I have been here. Again, we are talking about roads, I believe, that would no longer be inhabited; there would no longer be homes on them; they would no longer be used for any type of work; and I suppose, over the years, the department no longer provided service because it wasn't needed.
MR. GAUDET: Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the minister for that information. Since I have been involved in politics, I keep getting calls making reference to K-class roads but I've never asked or found out, you know, where they come from, how the roads get delisted and added on to this list. I know for a fact, Mr. Minister, there are a few K-class roads in Clare where there are people living on these roads. I guess my next question to the minister is, does the department spend any funding on carrying out work on K-class roads?
MR. SCOTT: Mr. Chairman, the area manager would have the ability and discretion, within his or her own budget, to spend up to $1,000 on a K-class road but, again, I just want to reiterate that I think that K-class roads - and I'm not sure of the ones the member is talking about - but certainly K-class roads where there are no longer any homes, it's not used for any type of service, it wouldn't make sense for the department to spend scarce budget dollars on maintaining roads that really are not used by anyone. Obviously, the member mentioned earlier that some of these roads that he's talking about do have homes on them, but the answer is the area manager would have some discretion, within their own budget, but for K-class roads, it would only be up to $1,000.
MR. GAUDET: I guess the reason I was asking that question, I have one individual who has a home in St. Alphonse. It's on the Bear Cove Road. It's a K-class road and every winter, especially when the snow starts coming down, they usually call, you know, is it possible for the department staff to come and plow us out? I know a few years ago they were covered with snow and I know that the department staff did actually go in and try to help them to move the snow around. So I'm glad to hear that, maybe through the area supervisor, there might be some funding to help on these special types of requests.
A list of K class roads could not be located but the May 14, 2008 Nova Scotia Legislature Hansard Archives includes the following conversation:
Nova Scotia Legislature - Hansard Transcript (nslegislature.ca)