A new set of traffic lights in Callander were lit for the first time today by the girl who is responsible for their installation.
In 2016, Katlyn Vanhorn’s bus driver was seriously injured in an accident on the corner of Highway 94 and Callander Bay Drive. Vanhorn was 13 years old at the time and gathered the 1,500 signatures needed to bring a petition forward to council.
On Thursday, Vanhorn was the one to officially flip the switch to power the traffic lights.
“Just knowing that it’s a little bit safer for everybody and hoping that there will be less accidents,” Vanhorn said at the event.
When Katlyn heard that her school bus driver had become paraplegic due to an accident at the intersection, she took a petition to that year’s Fun Fest where she got most of the 1,500 signatures.
Katlyn’s father, Troy, a firefighter with the Callander Fire Department, says that he is proud of what his daughter has accomplished.
“She worked hard at that. Being that young of an age and to put that much effort into something and go around in the community and get names and to approach the municipality with the hard work that she did. This is a proud day,” he said.
Troy Vanhorn believes that new traffic lights will greatly improve safety in the community.
“People need to slow down. It’s not only for traffic, as the community grows this section of highway… there’s a lot of children and people crossing here every day. Now they’ll have the lights to cross with and they’ll be able to cross safely,” he explained.
Robb Noon, Mayor of Callander, is also impressed with the initiative taken by Katlyn Vanhorn.
“For her to step up that way, it shows that one person can make that change,” he told the media.
Nearly everybody on hand at Thursday’s event had a tale to tell about a dangerous incident at the intersection, which was previously just a two-way stop to cross Highway 94 coming in or out of Callander.
For Katlyn Vanhorn, it was her bus driver. For Troy Vanhorn, he lost a high school friend in an accident at the intersection. For Mayor Noon, it was also a high school friend whom he lost in a motorcycle collision.
“That was quite an impact on everybody in the community at the time. It was a terrible time for everybody,” Moon recalled. “It’s always been a concern to the community so it’s a great thing that’s happened now.
