THUNDER BAY – A city official says collapsible traffic-calming medians placed down the middle of a stretch of Hill Street South were bolted in place to help keep speeds down.
Mike Vogrig, a project engineer with the city, on Wednesday said the move stemmed from the closure of High Street, where a $2.1-million wall rebuild has closed a section of the busy street until the end of October.
“When we’re looking at High Street it’s kind of a minor arterial road and there’s quite a bit of traffic,” Vogrig said.
“The way the detour was set up put (traffic) through a residential area. What we wanted to do with the increased traffic was going through there was just a reminder to motorists who are using that detour to kind of keep their speeds down and be aware that it’s a residential neighbourhood that they’re traveling through and there are children playing.”
Over the past couple of days, traffic officers from the Thunder Bay Police Service have also been on scene issuing tickets after receiving a number of complaints.
The signs, also in place on a section of Bay Street between High and Hill streets, aren’t new to Thunder Bay.
“We have used these medians in residential areas as a trial last year and the year before,” Vogrig said. “I think we had some set up in River Terrace and some set up in Parkdale.”
Motorists should have plenty of room to navigate their way through the signs on Hill Street South, even if homeowners park on the side of the road -- though some have been spotted driving around the medians on the left-hand-side.
Emergency vehicles should also be able to pass without issue, he added.
“The medians themselves are flexible, so if they had to get by they could just drive right over them without any damage,” Vogrig said. “In terms having cars parked on the side of the road and the median in the middle, it’s kind of a good thing because they have to stop and navigate around it,” Vogrig said.
“It keeps speeds down as they’re going through that detour.”
The medians will stay up until the work on High Street has been completed.
