THUNDER BAY – Stop signs could be added to an intersection that neighbourhood residents believe is dangerous.
Coun. Brian Hamilton (McKellar) is looking to convert the Secord and Dufferin streets intersection into a four-way stop, bringing forward the proposal at Monday night’s Thunder Bay city council meeting.
Hamilton said he has been working with neighbourhood residents on the issue for the past six months.
"This spot is good for a four-way stop because we have a neighbourhood to build here," Hamilton said. "The exact nature of this roadway makes it have an arterial feel. What happens is we have a lot of people bypassing the congestion on Algoma Street. They’re using Secord Street as an arterial mode to get downtown."
Neighbourhood residents last year publicly called for the implementation of a four-way stop, days after a dramatic crash left one vehicle on its roof. The residents said they see too many collisions and near misses at the intersection.
Hamilton acknowledged he has not been met with agreement by city administration, which he said points to data that speeds, traffic volumes and the number of collisions don’t warrant additional traffic control.
"We were just under the thresholds that would trigger looking at a four-way stop in here," Hamilton said.
"There are accidents. By the time people leave Bay Street, they’re going to reach full speed at this intersection and it’s quite a busy intersection with Dufferin Street. There’s a lot of traffic. We just had a bunch of festivals down here this summer. This area was packed."
Hamilton believes adding a four-way stop can serve as a type of low cost neighbourhood improvement project.
"We want to reinvigorate the neighbourhood feel of it," Hamilton said. "What we’re finding is we need to create more of an air of walkability down here and that’s one way to do it."
"We have a car-centric society. Here in the Bay and Algoma neighbourhood, there are a lot of neighbours that are bicycling, that are walking. There are a lot of amenities down here so that neighbours can walk to all kinds of function. You could live down here and not even need a vehicle."
