Changes could be on the way for a couple of intersections.
At its meeting this week, Timmins council received petitions from residents in the areas of the Westmount and College Street intersection and from Northglen trailer park residents. Each group is asking for safety improvements, though each will be handled in a different way.
At the College and Westmount intersection, it's currently a three-way stop. Eastbound vehicles are the only ones that do not have to stop at the intersection.
Sixty residents in the area signed a petition asking for a four-way stop instead. The reasons noted in it are to "stop the mass confusion of the four-way with only three stop signs, the excessive speed going up Westmount and to promote a safer corner for the residents of Melrose."
CAO Dave Landers explained a bit of the history of the intersection.
Up until about 35 years ago, he said there were only stop signs on College Street, which is what Theriault Boulevard turns into north of Jubilee. Drivers heading west on Westmount were going down the hill too fast, he said.
"Because that becomes … quite a long stretch and people were really moving down the hill very quickly into some tighter streets and houses that were more dense, closer to the road,” he said.
Landers couldn't confirm why a stop sign wasn't put in for eastbound traffic. Those factors will be part of the staff report coming back to council on the topic.
The Northglen Community is located on Highway 655. Over 150 residents there have signed a petition asking for a turning lane into the community. City staff is sending a resolution to the Ministry of Transportation about the change.
