INNISFAIL – Town council wants more information on a worrisome and accident-prone west-side highway intersection following a safety review by the province that concluded improvements were not necessary.
On Feb. 1, Steven Kennedy, the town’s director of operational services, presented a report to town council on recent Alberta Transportation reviews for the Highway 54 intersections at 42 Street and Lakewood Drive.
The report from Kennedy showed Alberta Transportation looked into safety requirements for the intersection at Lakewood Drive.
“Based on the information available for the intersection, and a relatively low accident rate, there was no scope to alter the existing intersection,” said the Alberta Transportation conclusion.
However, that conclusion irked mayor Jim Romane, who noted there has been at least four or five “very serious” traffic accidents over the past three to four years at that intersection.
"There has been some doozies there. They were near-fatality situations. It is only going to be a matter of time before there will be fatalities there. We have to look at something, whether it’s reducing the speed limit, or lane changing or what,” said Romane, who was told by administration the town did make a request last year for an unspecified speed limit reduction from the current 100 kilometres per hour posted limit for Highway 54 but had not yet received a response from Alberta Transportation.
“People are breaking the law when it happens, passing on the right side when it’s actually only a turn lane,” he said. “They go right through the intersection at 100 kilometres when its only a turn right lane. That is where the majority of accidents are coming from.”
He insisted a remedy needs to be made at the intersection, and that the “low accident rate” claim from the province was wrong.
The mayor said the town needed more information, including actual statistics.
Romane also wanted the same for the Highway 54 and 42 Street intersection by the new Bella Vista subdivision development.
Council also received a report of Alberta Transportation’s review of that intersection’s line configuration changes.
Council was told that once Bella Vista hits certain milestones in its development it’s expected an additional lane will have to be built on the west side of the highway.
As for any improvements at the 42 Street intersection, Romane said the issue has always been a question of who is going to pay for it.
“It is not cheap putting intersections on the highways,” he said. “Everybody is just sitting back and not wanting to touch it. It’s going to be too expensive. I don’t know what our solution is going to be there.”
It is expected Kennedy will soon bring back a new report to council with more detailed statistical information, including numbers of accidents and their severity, for both intersections
