![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
![]() ![]() The first inland roads on Prince Edward Island were routes established by the Mikmaq, travelling from the south shore to the north shore. Usually short portages from rivers or bays, many of these paths later became roads during European settlement. In the early pioneer days, when Island settlements consisted of homesteads along the shore, most communication occurred by sailing along the coast or canoeing upriver before walking on land. However, poor weather conditions would pose obstacles and, in winter, travel through snow-filled forests became virtually impossible. The first road on the Island was built in 1731, by Jean Pierre de Roma, who cleared inland paths linking French settlements in Eastern Kingsfrom Brudenell Point to Sturgeon Bay, Cardigan, Souris, St. Peters, and Port Lajoie. However, these roads grew over after the British sacked the colony at Brudenell. Other early Island roads travelled along the south shore of the Hillsborough River and from the West River across to Beach Point on Malpeque Bay. Eventually, in the late 1700s and early 1800s, a web of roads connecting Island communities slowly began to emerge. ![]() While the environment, snow removal, sanding, circulation, and speeding are contemporary highway safety concerns, road safety on the Island was the subject of a slightly different type of concern at the turn of the century. In 1908, the Province of Prince Edward Island banned the use of automobiles on Island roads. Horses, still the primary mode of transport for Prince Edward Islanders, were terrified by the noise and smell of automobiles. Several accidents resulted from ![]() In 1913, the New Automobile Act allowed cars to travel Island roads on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays only. This kept four auto-free days during the weekTuesdays and Fridays for going to market, Saturdays for shopping, and Sundays for Church services. Five years later, in 1918, automobiles were permitted on Island roads every day of the week. Since then, Islanders have grown to depend on motor vehicles and safe roads and highways to maintain the patterns of communication between communities that are vital to the contemporary Island Way of Life. Ferry Service | Confederation Bridge | Confederation Trail | Air Travel |