According to local resident Anne Duriez, 5th Street West near Lions Park in Meadow Lake can be a dangerous place. During the regular meeting of Meadow Lake city council held Monday (May 12), a letter received from Duriez was discussed, a letter that outlined a number of traffic concerns she has with that particular part of the community. “Correspondence was received from local resident Anne Duriez, which covered traffic related concerns on 5th Street West between 9th Avenue West and Bridger Drive,” explained city clerk Kaila Lefort in her official recommendation to council. Lefort responded to Duriez, notifying her the letter would be placed on the May 12 meeting agenda. “Anne’s letter makes specific requests for action as well as various suggestions for improvements to council,” Lefort continued.

According to Duriez’s letter, the house on the corner of the southern-most exit from Marion Crescent has shrubs that block the view of traffic or bikes coming from the south. “I drive a car, so may sit a bit lower than some vehicles,” she wrote. “Particularly in the morning when people seem to be in a hurry and when traffic for the childcare locations increases, this exit feels risky. Could these bushes be groomed or removed?” Lefort meanwhile, reminded council, each summer, the bylaw department does a review of intersections within the city to identify potential sight triangle issues. “Administration will request the bylaw department inspect this sight triangle,” she stated in her recommendation. “The (zoning) bylaw gives the city the ability to expand the sight triangle, where warranted, for safety reasons in specific cases. This does not require a resolution of council.” Duriez also said the corner where 5th Street West turns onto Bridger Drive is also hazardous with drivers entering the opposing lane to make the corner. “There tends to be a fair bit of pedestrian and car traffic there due to the parking space for people using Lions Park,” Duriez continued. “I would like to suggest signs indicating a blind corner and possibly a crosswalk or even speed bumps entering and exiting that corner. Painting the lanes there might also remind drivers to stay in their own lane.”

Mayor Merlin Seymour believes this issue has a lot to do with how people drive. “There is a crosswalk and the walking path is on the south side of Bridger, so I don’t think that’s a real issue,” Seymour said. “The sidewalk is on the west side with a crosswalk to the walking path.. that’ sort of a non-issue, really.” Councillor Conrad Read also pointed out how Duriez suggested speed bumps. “That would be an obstacle and would create more problems,” he said. “If someone is going too fast, he or she could lose directional control and end up in somebody’s house.” Duriez also recommended – along 5th Street West from 9th Avenue to Bridger Drive – reducing the speed limit to 30 km/h.

“In winter, crossing the street safely is impacted by the road becoming slippery if snowpack creates an uneven surface for pedestrians, some of whom are seniors or individuals with disabilities,” she noted. “Any time of the year, many of the people accessing the park unload kids, pets, strollers etc. along 5th Street West. Some drivers slow down when they see this activity, but many don’t, and it requires attention when two vehicles meet alongside a parked vehicle. I am concerned about inattentive children in this setting. Drivers who do slow down sometimes must deal with tailgaters who don’t wish to slow down and who increase the risks.” According to Lefort, reducing the speed in this area would require amending the traffic bylaw. “Administration suggests public consultation on this to gauge the public’s interest in reducing the speed within the indicated parameters,” she added.

Councillor Marty Bishop said he doesn’t believe lowering the speed limit is going to help. “If you’re breaking the law by driving faster than 40 km/h, you’re going to break it by driving faster than 30 km/h,” he said. “People who do not adhere to the speed limit, are not going adhere to a slower limit. I think the best bet is to, at times, have a stronger police presence there. That’s the best control. Once people realize there will be a presence there monitoring speed, it could make a difference.” Duriez’s letter also went on to explain there are two homes on Marion Crescent that appear to provide daytime childcare while there is a licensed family day home on Morin Crescent. “These services appear to increase the numbers of children crossing from Marion and Morin Crescents to bus stops,” she added. “Would it be possible to paint crosswalks from all three crescents and place signs to indicate school bus stops ahead, as is done on rural roads. I have noticed, as children assemble to wait for their bus, there can be jostling, pushing and horseplay that increases the risk someone will be pushed off the sidewalk. At least until other measures can be put in place, I’d also like to see an increased presence from our community safety officer to encourage drivers to slow down.” Lefort noted, if bus stop signage is installed in one area of the city, the remaining bus stops within the city may also need the installation of signage for fairness across the city. “School bus pick-up and drop-off locations are not permanent and are changed from year-to-year,” she stated. “Administration can request the bylaw department increase its presence in the area during their regular patrols. This does not require a resolution of council. We note the community safety officer does engage in traffic enforcement to the extent possible, especially in school zones and other streets where speeding has been identified as a problem.” Read agreed there should not be a bus stop sign at each place buses stop, as this too, he said, would not solve the problem. Seymour echoed this. “Bus stops throughout the city change every year,” he said. Council ultimately carried a motion directing administration to, in turn, direct the community safety officer to increase patrols within the areas of concern and for the bylaw department to conduct an observation of the concerns raised, and to bring their findings back to council at a future meeting. The motion was brought to the table by Bishop and seconded by councillor Mauri Young. “Before we make a rash decision on something, let’s have some observation,” Read said.