Nothing pedestrian about Hintonburg concerns

Posted Feb 9, 2012 By Kristy Wallace

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EMC news -Near misses, problem intersections and aggressive drivers were the topic of conversation as Hintonburg residents gathered on Jan. 31 to talk about pedestrian safety on neighbourhood roadways.

While there weren't many in attendance, residents commented on various individual intersections in Hintonburg and areas around Ottawa west -including Parkdale Avenue near the Queensway westbound on-ramp.

Residents brought up concerns about cars running red lights to get onto the highway, including some who have been involved in near-misses with their children.

"There's an advance green (signal light) for people coming and turning left onto the on-ramp," said resident Vicky Smallman. "But they will run the red light, and usually there are four or five cars that pass."

Jeff Leiper, president of the Hintonburg Community Association, echoed the concerns about the intersection.

"The advance turns yellow and people are still making that turn," he said.

Kitchissippi Ward Coun. Katherine Hobbs, who didn't attend the meeting, said the matter is for police.

"When people are running red lights, the police have to sit there and monitor the activity," Hobbs said. "On Parkdale, people start driving quite erratically and they want to get around that light. There's some fundamental driver behaviour problems on the busy roadways."

Hintonburg residents also brought up concerns about students leaving Devonshire School and jaywalking across Somerset Street West near the bridge -a concern because drivers travelling on the bridge might not see students walking.

"It's a danger and we asked for lights or crosswalk and we were told no," resident Paulette Dozois said. "We need a traffi c study and there's a 20-year backup for a traffic study."

Hobbs said recent construction on the bridge has made the road narrower so children are on the road for less time, but the problem lies in educating children not to jaywalk.

"If they're jaywalking, that's an issue," Hobbs said. "They have to be told not to do that."

While residents also discussed various safety issues at intersections like Wellington and Fairmont, Wellington and Carruthers, and Scott at Holland -to name a few -they also talked about possible solutions to the problem as Hintonburg attracts more families. One idea that came up is painting intersections so drivers know they are in a residential area and need to slow down.

"There are some places now, instead of a crosswalk and light at a busy intersection, they decorate the intersections," said Dozois.

"Maybe we could get kids to paint, or think of different intersections where they might want to think about doing that. The roads belong to everyone."

Hobbs added that the idea has been used in some cities in the United States, and she's brought the idea up to some community associations in Kitchissippi.

"The reality is, we have to get more creative to address those problems," Hobbs said. "Having a great big intersection painting could be a visual clue to drivers that this is residential. We want to look at all different painting projects like that."

For more information and to submit some traffic concerns, visit the Hintonburg Community Association's website at: www.hintonburg.com.


kristy.wallace@metroland.com






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