It appears residents of Port Hawkesbury will get to have their say on the future of a busy street in the heart of the town.

Council has agreed to hold a special vote – or plebiscite – on the layout of Reeves Street during the October municipal election.

Its design has been a contentious issue for the past eight years but more so since it went from being four lanes to three with some turning lanes.

The idea behind the change started as part of a pilot project known as “Destination Reeves Street”. The road was repainted to three lanes to make it more of a main street in town, rather than a throughway.

However, the changes have caused some traffic issues, confusion and ongoing safety concerns but others support the lane reduction and its intent.

The road is provincially owned and council is hoping the results of the plebiscite will provide direction on how best to move forward.

The decision to explore holding a plebiscite was made during a special meeting on Tuesday night and is the latest in a series of moves from council to have the issue addressed.

During a meeting in June, council supported a motion to return Reeves Street back to four lanes.

Deputy Mayor Mark MacIver put the motion forward to go back to the original configuration, to get the province’s attention. He noted at the time, communication between the town and the province had been too slow.

As part of the meeting on Tuesday, council asked staff to look at coming up with an action plan to set the wheels in motion for the plebiscite on Reeves Street, which would include how the question will be worded, any costs associated with the special vote and incorporating it into their electronic voting system.