THUNDER BAY – Samantha Biggs and Ashley Johnson have seen enough collisions and far too many near misses at the intersection of Dufferin and Secord streets.
They’d like the city to reconsider its decision and install stop signs on Secord Street, turning the intersection into a four-way stop.
“Dufferin is the only street that travels through this way and Secord is the only street that travels all the way this neighbourhood. It’s one kilometre long and it only has one stop sign in the middle and cars pick up quite a bit of speed while traveling down Duffy Street,” said Johnson on Friday, just days after the latest collision at the busy intersection left one vehicle flipped on its roof.
“As well, going down the Dufferin Street hill, they pick up a lot of speed going down the hill. Also, the visibility at this intersection is quite poor.”
While the city has conducted a pair of traffic studies at the intersection in the past four years, the results show there isn’t enough traffic to warrant turning it into a four-way stop.
Johnson and Biggs acknowledge the studies’ findings, but politely disagree on the recommendation each time to stick with the status quo.
“My impression overall is the metrics they’re using to decide whether or not a four-way stop is warranted, isn’t taking into consideration the important factors we’re seeing every day,” Biggs said.
“We’re seeing near-miss collisions and the speed of traffic, things like that.”
The pair have an ally in McKellar Coun. Paul Pugh, though he’s not sure what can be done. He’s hopeful the latest collision, which sent one driver to hospital, might open some eyes in the city’s engineering department and perhaps change a few minds.
“I contacted administration again after the most recent incident,” Pugh said in an interview at his home. “I haven’t heard back. I expect I will soon. Maybe there will be a review, but these things go by the data. The fact there was a pretty serious accident here the other day may or may not affect the data. I’m not sure how those things work.”
Pugh said if administration rules against adding stop signs on Secord Street, he could bring the matter before council in an attempt to find support to overrule the decision.
“I think it would be a good idea,” he said of the stop-sign request. “I don’t really see what the big objection is to putting up a stop sign. If we get a negative from administration, then we’ll have to review our options … It seems extraordinary to have to go to city council to get a stop sign. We’ll have to wait and see what the response is from administration.”
A spokesperson for the city's engineering department said they plan to install radar signs along Secord Street in the near future and may consider alternative measures, including a larger stop sign for vehicles headed east down the hill on Dufferin Street.
