While some residents have concerns about the intersection at MacDonald Street West and Fourth Avenue Northwest, city hall has no plans to install more safety measures to manage traffic.
During the June 13 regular council meeting, Coun. Doug Blanc asked city administration whether it was feasible to install a four-way stop at that intersection to eliminate what some residents perceived was an increase in accidents during the past year.
He also wanted administration to determine how many accidents had occurred at that corner.
City administration responded during the July 11 regular meeting, saying traffic enhancements were unnecessary. However, the city had pruned trees and bushes near that intersection, while the public works department planned to install additional warning signs before the crossing for southbound traffic.
Included in the response was a letter that the department of engineering services sent to a resident on March 18 about the same issue, although the resident wanted flashing stoplights installed at that intersection.
Bevan Harlton, director of engineering services, told the resident in the letter that the department took into consideration traffic control changes and reviewed them against the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Canada (MUTCD), the traffic bylaw, the development transportation standards, and the City-wide Roadway Intersection Review Report.
MacDonald Street Northwest and Fourth Avenue Northwest are both classified as collector roadways, while the purpose of such streets is to mainly provide traffic movement from arterial streets to residential streets, Harlton explained.
The department reviewed the intersection and determined there were no criteria to warrant a four-way stop, according to the MUTCD, he added. Furthermore, driver inattention was the major factor in all collisions, while a traffic capacity analysis suggested that all movements were operating acceptably and no improvements were needed.
“I appreciate engineering looking into this,” Blanc said after the report was presented. “I had a couple of people on that Fourth Avenue question me about why there isn’t a four-way stop there. I see that there was a resident that also wrote a letter, which has been responded to.
“So the ones that contacted me, I’m going to share the letter with them … and provide the rationale.”
Blanc hoped that city administration did investigate the number of accidents at that intersection when creating the report because Harlton’s letter indicated driver inattention was the main problem.
He also hoped that the advance stop sign warning would eliminate such incidents, while he thought residents should be instructed to keep tabs on vehicle collisions and report back to city hall if that number increases.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, July 25.
