Matthew Burke

My name is Matthew Burke, I have been a long time summer resident in Hubbards.

I attended the Hubbards Sailing Club from age 8 to 15, and instructed for a couple of years afterward. Today I work as a software developer for a small firm in Halifax. I often used to walk or bike from our cottage off Shore Club road to the sailing club, both the old Yacht Club road location and the current location on NS-329.

As someone with experience travelling by foot and bicycle in the community, I can say with confidence that it is not safe to do so in many areas; this is especially true during the busy summer months. I’ve had many close calls riding on the narrow shoulder of highway 3. On one occasion, around the age of 13, I was passed so closely while riding along the shoulder near Yacht Club road that it startled me and caused me to slide-out onto the gravel. I ended up with a nasty road rash injury. When I later instructed at the sailing club’s current location I was often nervous while watching the day care students walking along the fox point road towards the cannery beach. They took every precaution in doing so but it was still troubling to watch given the narrow shoulder, upcoming blind crest, and fast-moving traffic of the area.

I believe that as Hubbards continues to grow it is more important than ever for the community to work together to effect safety-oriented changes to our pedestrian infrastructure. I am grateful to the organizers of this project for their hard work and bold pursuit of this vision. The momentum that has been achieved so far is staggering and is a direct result of the demand for this work in the community. I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next and learning how we can all help move this project forward.