Barker Street to remain one-way for now; recommendation to decline BYO alcohol; more people have a doctor

By Sharon Harrison
Items up for consideration at Thursday’s committee of the whole meeting included a proposal to make Barker Street in Picton a two-way street, and a recommendation to decline “bring-your-own” alcohol permits for public spaces.

Committee also received an update from the Prince Edward Family Health Team, along with some good news on a declining Health Care Connect wait list, with more County residents now connected to a physician.

These three items are expanded further below.

The meeting also tackled the results of a council compensation review undertaken by consultants, Stratford Group. Many councillors didn’t like the report, with heated discussions and raised voices ensuing around the horse shoe, with accusations and personal insults being thrown about, before calm was restored. A separate story will be posted shortly.

All decisions made at this meeting are to come back to council on May 26 for ratification.

Barker Street to remain one-way, for now
A proposal for Picton’s Barker Street (from Bowery Street to Paul Street) to revert to a two-way road, changing the designation from the current one-way traffic, did not pass by council. The resolution to change it back to a two-way street was initially passed by council in February.

Instead, a motion brought forward by councillor Phil Prinzen was passed by council to transition Barker Street to two-way traffic as part of the scope of the upcoming reconstruction project. Therefore, the existing one-way traffic is to be maintained until reconstruction of Barker Street is completed (reconstruction is expected to commence in spring/summer 2027).

Prinzen said he liked the idea of waiting until the capital project comes through.

“Why not wait until we just re-build the road, and we can change it then, and it’s a new learning for everybody when the road’s re-done,” expressed Prinzen. “It gives everybody some more time.”

Matthew Kinzinger, Civil Engineering Technologist, said discussions had taken place with all parties (emergency services, the school board and tri-broad, as well as residents) who were generally supportive of the change.

“The only request from the school board was, if changes were made, it would be helpful to wait until after the last day of school, which we believe to be June 25.”

Councillor Phil St-Jean said the planned construction was likely not going to happen for a year or two years, “so the request from the residents, I think it’s important we support them, and it’s clear that there’s no barrier to doing this”.

Barker Street was historically designated as a one-way street under pre-amalgamation bylaws, noted Kinzinger.

Councillor Kate MacNaughton said she has developed some concerns during the process, but agreed that the road is wide enough to tolerate two-way traffic. However, her concern was with safety in the school zone with buses and staging for pick-up and drop-off, and whether that can be accommodated without blocking the road if there is two-way traffic.

“I am very concerned that we might not quite be there based on how the buses behave at those times of day,” said MacNaughton.

Kinzinger explained that’s why the school board wanted to wait until after then end of the school year, so they can work on developing a plan with their buses as well, adding that there is enough room on Barker Street.

Manager of Engineering, David MacPherson confirmed the timelines on the capital project for reconstruction of Barker Street, indicating that they are in the process of completing the design and are on track to tender it this year. He further confirmed the work needed to be done in front of the school will be done when the school is not in session.

“Bring-your-own” alcoholic beverages
With no discussion around the horse shoe, council voted to decline to authorize the “bring-your-own” (BYO) alcohol permit stream for public spaces, as recommended by the municipal clerk.

In Ontario, the consumption of alcohol in public spaces is governed by both provincial legislation and local municipal by-laws.

In her report to council, municipal clerk Catalina Blumenberg provided an overview of recent amendments to the Liquor Licence and Control Act, which came into effect on April 30, regarding “tailgating” and BYO events. Specifically, the province has expanded the scope of BYO permits to include municipally-designated cultural or community outdoor public events.

“This amendment creates a framework that allows attendees to bring and consume their own alcohol within designated areas, provided the municipality chooses to grant such a designation.”

Blumenberg’s recommendation is to maintain existing public safety standards by declining to authorize the new BYO permit stream for public spaces.

Family Health Team update
“We are very happy to share that anyone who was registered on the provincial Health Care Connect list prior to Jan. 1, 2025 has now been attached to primary care in our community,” shared Barinder Gill, Executive Director of the Prince Edward Family Health Team .

“That was a list that was originally around 2,000 plus, but still an under-representation of what our unattached population actually was, and continues to be, in Prince Edward County. “

Gill and Dr. Sarah LeBlanc provided a regional and local current state update on primary care investments, including what’s been done, what’s underway, and what’s next, in their presentation.

The Hastings Prince Edward Ontario Health Team (HPE OHT), of which both Gill and LeBlanc are co-leads, is a voluntary collaboration of health and social care organizations, and is the sub-group of family physicians, nurse practitioners, and organizations that are committed to ensuring all people who seek care in HPE have access to timely and appropriate primary health care.

As of April 29, about 728 Prince Edward County residents were on the Health Care Connect list waiting to be referred to a family physician or nurse practitioner. Between Aug. 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026, nearly 1,050 people were attached to a primary care clinician at the Prince Edward Family Health Team.

Gill said, from April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026, more than 1,400 County residents were connected to primary care here.

“As of April 29, 2026, we had approximately 728 residents waiting to be connected to primary care and that number has grown to more than 800 today. The growth in numbers is a result of promoting the Health Care Connect list to the community, and also the community’s seen momentum in terms of individuals being attached to primary care.”

“We’ve gone a really long time with a substantial number of patients who sat on the list with little to no movement which was certainly discouraging to many members, and some did not see the point in putting their name forward,” added Gill.

He said from April 1 to today, more than 220 residents have been connected to care.

“I am so grateful for the clearing out of this list, including my own family, we managed to get attached to a primary care physician,” shared councillor Kate MacNaughton. “And I wanted to recognize the work creating those attachments can have a profound impact on an individual, or a family’s life, and I don’t think we can overstate that in any way, shape or form.”

Full details of the items discussed at the May 14 committee of the whole meeting can be found on the corresponding agenda on the County’s website, along the meeting recording.