Sidewalk requested

Residents at north end of Summerside’s Central Street want safer pedestrian access to city

“I have six children and I can’t let them (walk) anywhere because I’m scared they might get run over. The shoulder up there is unsafe.” Trevor Yeo

Trevor Yeo is afraid for his children’s safety and believes a sidewalk in his corner of Summerside would help alleviate his concerns.

Yeo lives with his family on Waverly Court, off Central Street near the intersection with Route 2.

Theirs is one of the only sections of the street that does not have a sidewalk.

In the hopes of changing that, Yeo recently collected 23 signatures from others living along that section of Central Street, asking the city to install a sidewalk from Route 2 to Walker Avenue.

“I have six children and I can’t let them (walk) anywhere because I’m scared they might get run over. The shoulder up there is unsafe,” he said. Yeo encouraged council to act and pointed out that the city’s north end is growing, with several projects rumoured to be in the works.

It would be an investment, not only in safety, he said, but also in future economic considerations.

“I know it’s a lot of tax dollars, but (the sidewalks) are going to get used,” he said.

Yeo spoke during Tuesday’s monthly Committee of Council meeting, at which Coun. Greg Campbell (who represents that area of the city) had presented the petition to fellow councillors.

Campbell raised a number of pedestrian and traffic safety issues during the meeting, including the long-standing issue of installing sidewalks and improving traffic along the Pope Road Extension, the lack of a left-turn lane at the intersection of Route 2 and Central Street and traffic/pedestrian safety in the north end of the city, especially along Granville Street.

Campbell said at previous meetings that he’d like to see the municipal staff take a longterm look at traffic improvements in that side of the city, given the amount of development there.

“We should have a plan for the next two or three years, where it’s going,” he said. Campbell’s concerns, and Yeo’s petition, will be passed on to the city’s technical services committee for further research and consideration.