KIRKLAND LAKE - Some Kirkland Lake residents have several safety concerns about the intersection of Queen and Wood streets.
During a public meeting held by the Town of Kirkland Lake on Tuesday (Sept. 19), residents had the opportunity to highlight their concerns and any recommendations they may have in relation to the proposed four-way stop and sidewalk reinstatement that’s being discussed.
Penny Perrier, the executive director of Second Street Daycare, said their second location at 119 Queen St. has been operating for seven years.
“We walk the kids from the daycare to school in the mornings and the afternoons. We've been doing this for seven years and over the last year the traffic and the amount of people has been increasing. There's an overwhelming amount of vehicles in the area now,” she said.
“You also have children in Grade One that are walking to school alone. They're very small and they're children, so their judgment isn't as mature as ours and people might not see them, so there's also that risk.”
Perrier said she calls the OPP at least once a week about concerns related to the intersection.
“I've been advocating for a long time for this. I'm very passionate about it. It's at the point where if something doesn't come into place, we will not be able to offer this service to families, unfortunately,” she said.
“I don't feel safe walking and I don't feel as though the children are safe walking there. That's where we are at as an organization. The safety of the children is not being prioritized. Someone's going to get hurt if something isn't put in place. And I might be sounding dramatic, but there's been lots of close calls.”
A local crossing guard of over 16 years similarly expressed her concerns noting that she’s also almost been hit several times and would like to see the four-way stops at every school.
In a letter to council, Tricia Stefanic Weltz, director of education for the Northeastern Catholic District School Board (NCDSB), said given the location of St. Jerome School, they have ongoing concerns about student pedestrian safety in the immediate school community.
“Vehicular congestion and driver non-compliance of speed limits and traffic rules are also significant issues. We are actively trying to improve our student drop-off and pick-up procedures to ensure maximum security of our students, but we are constantly challenged by the lack of sidewalks on Woods Street and the design of the municipal roads in the St. Jerome School neighbourhood,” she said.
“We firmly believe that a four-way stop will help to reduce car speed in the school zone, provide proper pedestrian access to sidewalks, and better protect the safety of St. Jerome School students and their families.”
During the meeting, Stephane Fortin, director of public works, said creating a four-way stop would increase safety not only for pedestrians but also for drivers, particularly those making left-hand turns.
According to a town report, as part of the 2022 capital budget approval process, public works installed an automated crosswalk (PXO) at the intersection with the intention of removing the crossing guard, however, based on observations, comments and complaints, motorists are not always obeying the new safety measures.
“Over the course of the past eight months, the public works department determined that the PXO is in essence ineffective as vehicles simply do not stop for pedestrians, despite the new PXO fully activated. A crossing guard was reinstated at this location due to the ongoing safety concerns,” the report said.
If the four-way stop is approved, a new stop sign on the southeast and northwest corners of the intersection will be installed, the overhead mid-intersection beacons will be changed to all red (which are currently two yellow and two red) and a concrete sidewalk on the southwest corner of the intersection that leads to St. Jerome School will be reinstated.
The report said the sidewalk was intended to be installed in 2023 and was factored into public work’s portion of their 2023 operating budget, while the financial impacts of the signage and proposed changes to the beacons “would be minor.”
The item will be brought back to council’s next meeting on Oct. 3
