Traffic jams on Bay Street have Antigonish residents fed up, and the situation is growing more urgent by the day. Delays of up to two hours on the town’s only route to St. Martha’s Regional Hospital are creating frustration and concern, especially as multiple road projects unfold simultaneously.
The core of the problem is the sequence of construction projects along Bay Street, which serves as the sole artery into town and to the hospital. With no clearly designated alternate routes, drivers are routinely stuck in lengthy queues, leading to worries about emergencies and everyday commutes alike.
Among those feeling the impact is AnnMarie Pelly, a resident of Meig, who has spent more than an hour waiting to reach St. Martha’s. She emphasizes a real fear: what if a medical emergency arises while on that bottlenecked route? “To get to the hospital with my husband and his heart troubles as of late, trying to get through traffic—if something did happen… How do you tell somebody in a lineup of traffic that my husband’s having a heart attack?” she says. “It could be life or death.”
Residents reporting the past month’s delays point to a lack of feasible detours or simplified traffic management to ease the congestion. In addition to the Bay Street work, the town is tackling a Church Street roundabout project and a sewer realignment at West and James streets, all running in parallel and compounding the disruption.
Brent Collins is among locals questioning the pace and transparency of changes. “There’s a lot of different projects all happening at the same time, but just getting simple answers like why is it happening all at once? Why were these decisions made? It seemed like it was really hard to get these answers,” he notes.
Antigonish Mayor Sean Cameron acknowledges the administration didn’t anticipate the impact of the Church Street roundabout, which is part of a provincial initiative that had been expected to wrap up by late October. When council approved the Bay Street work in September, contractors suggested that Bay Street would open again before Church Street work began, with traffic delays not exceeding 15 minutes. “We were told… it would be clear sailing,” Cameron recalls. “The reality is quite the opposite.”
In response to a special emergency council meeting prompted by the two-hour delays, the town agreed to pause the second phase of the Bay Street project until spring, while the first phase is set to continue for another week.
The downtown business community feels the pain. Katie Jamieson, who runs Happy Dogs daycare and Jamieson’s Music Studio on Adam Street near Bay Street, says the prolonged congestion has already devastated the Christmas season for many Main Street businesses. She estimates about $15,000 in lost revenue over four weeks and warns that the damage could extend beyond earnings to long-term client relationships.
Cameron has been forthright about accountability while acknowledging room for improvement. Some residents have criticized the council for deflecting blame onto town staff or the provincial government. The mayor accepts that more proactive communication was needed but argues the town is taking responsibility for the decision to proceed with the construction. “Did we foresee all these pitfalls? Absolutely not,” he says. “Are we better prepared going forward? Yes.”
Following a late-week meeting with Dexter Construction, the Bay Street contractor, the town reached an agreement to amend the contract. To mitigate congestion, nighttime work has been scheduled for the week of December 14, with paving expected to begin later in the week.
This situation raises broader questions about how small towns plan, coordinate, and communicate large-scale roadwork, especially when multiple projects hit at once. As Antigonish navigates the immediate traffic crisis, the debate over whether the public is adequately informed, whether detours were duly considered, and how to balance infrastructure needs with everyday livelihoods will likely continue.
What’s your take on how municipalities should manage simultaneous road projects? Do you think nighttime work or phased pauses are the right remedies, or should communities demand alternative routes and stronger upfront planning? Share your views in the comments.
