THUNDER BAY - Drivers on the city’s north side will be greeted by a new four-way stop after city council voted to add a new stop sign despite it not being recommended by city engineers.
Thunder Bay City Council voted 7-1 in favour of a resolution brought forward by McKellar ward Coun. Brian Hamilton to make the intersection of Dufferin and Secord streets a four-way stop.
“The perception of safety is absolutely critical and people don’t feel it,” Hamilton said. “We think it will add an element of safety, walkability, alertness, and care to that corridor while people are commuting through there.”
Hamilton added that people living in the area have not felt safe and it is the responsibility of city council to listen to the people on the ground who “live it every single day.”
The city’s engineering department was not recommending a four-way stop at the intersection, saying traffic volumes, speeds, and the number of collisions did not warrant any changes.
“It’s really important we are not using these in places that are not warranted because we don’t want drivers to become complacent to stop signals that are not required,” said director of engineering and operations, Kayla Dixon.
According to Dixon, there were three collisions at the intersection in 2018, three in 2017, two in 2016, and one in 2015. Traffic volumes in the area were also increased in 2017 and 2018 due to work on the High Street retaining wall.
Dixon added safety measures have been put in place in the area, including increasing the size of the stop-signs on Dufferin from the standard two-foot to the larger three-foot wide signs, as well as painting cross-walks, and cutting back trees on the east side of Dufferin Street to increase visibility.
“Traffic studies have shown that people are now speeding on either Dufferin or Secord and the traffic counts and collisions do not warrant a four-way stop,” Dixon told council.
Councillors raised concerns about traffic flow in the area, with a four-way stop already in place at Secord and Bay Streets, as well as the steep incline of west Dufferin Street that can be dangerous in the winter, and people crossing Secord Street to attend a church on the corner.
The discussion eventually moved into the broader issue of speeding in the city, with councillors Cody Fraser and Kristen Oliver asking administration if speed limits on all residential streets should be lowered.
“It is ridiculous,” Oliver said. “The speeding in this community is anarchy out there.”
“Just changing the posted speed limit does not mean people will drive slower,” Dixon told council. “If you change the posted speed limit, but people still feel safe driving at a certain speed, that is the speed they are going to drive at unless there is significant enforcement there.”
Coun. Andrew Foulds, who supported the resolution, added an amendment to ask city administration to return to council in two years with a report on the effectiveness of the added four-way stop.
At the time of the vote, only Mayor Bill Mauro did not vote in favour of the resolution, while councillors Hamilton, Foulds, Oliver, Fraser, Peng You, Albert Aiello, and Aldo Ruberto voted in favour.
The resolution will be ratified during an upcoming city council meeting on Sept. 9.
