By Lyonel Doherty
Despite concerns about pedestrian safety downtown, a second crosswalk is not in the works for Main Street and Banks Avenue.
Town council discussed the issue on Monday, relying on a report from Director of Operations Shawn Goodsell. He said the Town previously received witnessed concerns about pedestrian safety at this busy intersection and thought it would be prudent to paint another crosswalk there (where the old one was).
Town staff met with the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure and were told that multiple crosswalks at each intersection crossing Main Street are not warranted. Instead, it suggested other options to encourage pedestrians to use the existing crosswalk at Banks and Main. For example, add landscaping to physically correct pedestrians from crossing in the unmarked area (where the previous crosswalk was located).
But Goodsell noted there are many people who already cross in the middle of the block and will continue to do so especially if the south crossing is blocked.
Still, the ministry is steadfast in its position and suggested temporary signage to get pedestrians to use the marked location to the north.
“Two people almost got killed by a semi,” said Councillor Maureen Doerr, referring to the unmarked crossing. “People still think it’s a crosswalk.”
In the end, council requested the ministry to appear as a delegation to discuss the issue further.
