It might be time to slow down and be patient at the intersection of Main Street West and Cassells Street as Council made the decision to turn the intersection into an all-way stop in light of a staff recommendation.
It isn’t without good reason, however, since the intersection has seen a total of 18 vehicle collisions since January 2014, with rising frequency year-to-year—three in 2014, six in 2015, and nine in 2016.
“To be honest, I was one of the statistics,” Coun. Tanya Vrebosch, Chair of Engineering, Public Works and Environmental Services said Tuesday night. “But none that I know of have been serious in nature—just fender-benders.”
Vrebosch said most of these collisions could have been avoided with a little more patience and caution, but the city is taking no chances for the future, especially with the recent addition of the hotel, and soon-to-be-completed Health Unit nearby. This is dually noted in the staff report, which supports the all-way stop at this time, due to significant growth along Oak Street occurring along with the collision history.
“Marina Point is right there and people come up from it on Cassells Street but have a hard time crossing there,” she said, noting the upcoming expansion to the retirement residence. “With [the hotel and Health Unit] there we’re going to see more traffic and pedestrians in the area so it’s better to be safe.”
Pleased with the quickness and ease of it passing, Vrebosch said it should be installed within the next few weeks with the new stop signs sporting flashing lights as a friendly reminder to drivers that the stop is new.
