North Bay has a traffic problem.
So the City of North Bay hopes you will have a sneak peek at what it came up with to deal with the problem at a Road Safety Strategy open house.
"With more than 800 collisions on City roadways each year, 100 of which result in serious injury or fatality, the strategy adopts a proactive and focused approach to road safety, building on public consultations, including survey feedback on key safety concerns like distracted driving, speeding, and pedestrian and cyclist safety," says a news release issued today.
The event will take place at City Hall on Tuesday, Nov. 12, from 4 to 6 p.m. ahead of a committee meeting, during which City staff and engineering consulting firm CIMA+ will officially present the proposed finalized strategy to Council.
See: City eyes strategy for safer streets and sidewalks
City staff and representatives from CIMA+ will be available at the open house to provide information about the strategy, answer questions, and gather public feedback. The City is considering things like speed and red light cameras.
The goal is to reduce fatal and injury collisions on City roads by at least 15 per cent within the next five years.
Key areas of focus in the strategy include:
- Intersections: Countermeasures for this emphasis area may include signal phasing improvements (e.g., dedicated left turn phasing), a Red Light Camera (RLC) Program, protected intersection design, decreased curb radii, enhancement pavement markings, roundabouts, right-turn on red prohibitions, improvement sightlines, and more.
- Distracted Driving: Countermeasures for this emphasis area may include safety edges, educational campaigns, increased enforcement, and more.
- Aggressive Driving: Countermeasures for this emphasis area may include reduced lane widths, traffic calming, Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE), road diets, educational campaigns, reduced speed limits, school zones, and more.
- Pedestrians: Countermeasures for this emphasis area may include protected pedestrian crossings, Leading Pedestrian Intervals (LPIs), audible pedestrian signals, enhanced winter maintenance, improved street lighting, and more.
- Cyclists: Countermeasures for this emphasis area include dedicated and protected cycling infrastructure, crossrides, bicycle signals, coloured conflict pavement markings, educational campaigns, and more.
- School Zones: Countermeasures may include community safety zones, traffic calming (e.g., speed humps, narrowing lane width, curb extensions), school crossings, a crossing guard program, educational campaigns, enforcement, and more.
The City proposes to spend up to $9.2 million over five years. A significant portion can be funded through current budget allocations or within the scope of future capital programs says the release.
At the open house, you'll get an opportunity to talk directly with City staff and CIMA+ representatives, helping shape the implementation of this initiative for safer roads for all North Bay travellers.
To review the proposed Road Safety Strategy, click here.
