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Last week, a pedestrian was struck and injured at the top of the town hill in Picton. Fortunately, he will recover from his injuries, but it is still a reminder that traffic volume has changed in the County. We only have to look back to last November, when a pedestrian was struck and unfortunately killed in Wellington. The driver was doing 50 kilometres an hour, not speeding, but the impact was still enough to be fatal.
How many pedestrians have to be injured, or worse, killed, before a change is enacted?
This is not a new issue. In 2005, council directed staff to explore the justification for a crosswalk in Wellington after a community group raised the issue. A crosswalk needs analysis was conducted by Ritchie traffic services who determined that due to limited traffic volume, a crosswalk was not warranted at that time. In 2018, after the fatality in Wellington, requests from residents asking for a crosswalk, again, poured in. Council, yet again, asked staff for a report on a crosswalk, in both Wellington and Bloomfield. Council authorized the undertaking of a pedestrian crossing analysis for Wellington and Bloomfield at a combined estimated budget cost of $15,000. The construction cost of each crosswalk is just over $143,000.
Traffic volume is only one factor contributing to the risk for pedestrians. The evidence of danger is already abundantly clear. County roads weren’t built to handle the influx of traffic. Alas, it is here, and it is here to stay. We must adjust. Another busy summer season has come and will be over soon. With that will come excited children bouncing across a busy Main Street for the first day of school. I urge councillors and staff to come and watch the mayhem that ensues. This should be enough of a feasibility study.
It does appear that changes are coming to Main Street Wellington. At a Traffic Committee meeting held last month, a proposal was brought forward to decrease the speed limit from 50 kilometres per hour to 40 kilometres per hour between Consecon Street and Beach Street. With the reduction also comes a Community Safety Zone, and a designated School Zone around CML Snider School. The changes will be up for approval at a council meeting later this month. But still no crosswalk. The feasibility study is currently underway, and has been for more than a year.
Why does it take this long for a study to be completed? Why is a study needed at all? Why are the costs so high for a simple crosswalk? Questions that unfortunately don’t have easy answers.
Add this to the list of County projects that seem to have been pushed to the side and forgotten. A corner store in Wellington that was supposed to see construction start this past spring. An old arena in Wellington, still casting its derelict shadow over Niles Street. Washrooms in Ameliasburgh, promised to be completed, for the second time, in early July. A deteriorating shoreline being washed into the abyss on Water Street in Wellington.
In an interview with The Times for another story this week, Alex Fida was asked what project was next on his list. His response was quick. “Finish what I’ve started.” Maybe the County could heed some advice from Fida. Take a look at some of these forgotten projects. Prioritize. And see them through—to the finish line.
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