A controversial stretch of road in North Bay will get a closer look.
Various sections of Algonquin Avenue have come under scrutiny recently. Citizen Monique Peters brought attention to numerous collisions in and around the Algonquin Avenue and Norwood Avenue/Lansdowne Avenue intersection in presentations to City Council.
See related story: City says safety studies underway on Algonquin Avenue
Among her suggestions is a reduction to the 50km/h speed limit and extending the median south of the intersection to prevent left turn lanes from Algonquin into the Esso parking lot. To accomplish this, Peters surmised that the left turn lane and signal facing south at the Norwood/Landsdowne intersection would both have to be lengthened.
See also: ‘I’d like to have my life back’ says Algonquin Avenue crash victim
Peters demanded that Council address the traffic situation on Algonquin when it comes to pedestrian traffic to access the medical building at 1221 Algonquin, as well as the aforementioned intersection and median, and the speed limit. In My 2016, an elderly couple was killed while crossing the five lanes of traffic to get to the medical building.
Turns out she is onto something.
A Report to Council containing an Algonquin Avenue Traffic Study that highlights many of the points made by Peters has been referred to the Engineering, Environmental Services and Works Committee for discussion.
Peters’ points refer to activity at the north end of this stretch of road. There is also the matter of the intersection of Algonquin and Front Street/Jane Street, also known to some as North Bay’s most dangerous intersection.
The report does address the difficulties presented by the high volume of traffic at Front/Jane. Staff believes one solution is to purchase land to widen the road and add dedicated left-turn lanes on each side of the intersection of Algonquin.
At the Norwood/Landsdowne intersection, recommendations follow almost exactly what Peters had suggested. From the report: “the southern intersection median should be extended by 22m. This will increase the volume of left turning traffic at the intersection, therefore, the intersection timing could be altered for a longer protected left-turn.”
As far as a potential pedestrian crossing to the medical building, it has been dismissed outright. Councillor Chris Mayne, also Vice-Chair of the Engineering Committee, says it is too costly. The report points out that bus stops should be (now have been) moved to encourage the use of the nearby traffic lights. Another issue that has been discussed with the owners of the medical building is to leave parking on the building side of the street for (often elderly) clients and patients, with staff using what is meant to be an overflow lot across Algonquin.
A reduction in the speed limit is also unlikely. The report finds that standards are met with the current 50km/h limit and the 40km/h community safety zone between the peak of the hill on Algonquin and just beyond the Front/Jane intersection.
