For safety’s sake
High number of collisions at intersection in Abercrombie has chief calling for change
Luke Comeau stands next to the intersection of Abercrombie Road and the Trenton Connector with an uneasy feeling.
The newly elected Abercrombie fire chief has been with the department for 13 years and can vividly recall the collision scenes he has responded to here.
He points across the road and says this is where two tractor trailers collided. He gestures to another area and says this is where a woman lost her life.
Comeau doesn’t want to keep track. He would rather forget that he is chief in an area with an intersection that has a reputation as being dangerous, but instead, every time the call comes out for assistance, he can’t help but wonder what it will take to make it all stop.
“In any car accident, you wonder how bad and hope no one’s injured. Sometimes, down there, when they tell you over the radio it involves a tractor trailer and car, you think ... oh geez,” he said.
Since 1999, Abercrombie Fire Department has responded to collisions at the Abercrombie and Trenton intersection 25 times.
“I thought it was a big number for that spot,” Comeau said. “You know it is when you get RCMP (collision team) showing up at the March 2 (collision) and they say, ‘We aren’t going to be here as long because we already have the measurements for the intersection.’ We have to do something.”
Comeau can’t say how severe each collision has been, but the calls themselves are starting wear on the mental health of some of his members including himself.
“When you talk about posttraumatic stress, it is starting to come to that point,” he said. “Even myself, I have a wife and kids. This last accident on March 2, my wife just messaged me to say they were going up town. I left work because she didn’t answer her phone and I thought, is it her? The thought is in the back of your head.”
Comeau said there are a few issues with the area that make it a dangerous location. The speed entering the intersection from any direction is 80 km/h and the traffic lights are on sensors that are quick to turn from green to yellow and red.
“I talk to many people where I work who come through the light when it’s green and before you are through, the light starts to change. People race lights,” he said.
He said there are warning signs in place as motorists descend down the hill from Mount William toward the intersection, but they don’t seem to have much of an impact. Some motorists are aware of the problems that can arise at the intersection and take precautions of their own.
“Many people will come to the green light and will stop at that intersection,” he said. “How do you come to an intersection and fear that? You can’t blame one group doing it because everyone will run that light.”
Comeau said removing the sensors from the lights or more signage are quick fixes but not a long-term solution.
“A roundabout is the solution. I call a solution something that is going to make people slow down,” he said.
Following the lead of Barneys River Fire Chief Joe MacDonald, who successfully lobbied for the twinning of Highway 104 in his area, Comeau is reaching out to municipal and provincial government representatives for support.
County council has written the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal multiple times asking for it to examine the area closely in hopes of putting further safety measures in place.
Following a fatal collision in December 2016 which resulted in a Pictou County man being charged with dangerous driving causing death, council contacted the province again, and Transportation Minister Geoff MacLellan told council that the department conducts periodic checks on all of its roads and bridges.
The answer didn’t satisfy council, which is now asking again for answers after another collision occurred weeks ago in the same area.
The province recently told The News that safety is its priority and it is concerned that collisions are taking place at this intersection.
“In each instance, we have had staff check the signals and found they were functioning properly. Last fall we did brush cutting and added new signage to the area. Staff are currently conducting a review of the intersection. We are awaiting the results of the review and will consider those recommendations to improve safety,” said a TIR spokeswoman.
Pictou West MLA Karla MacFarlane said she will be raising the issue again on Tuesday in the legislature during question period and will be pressing the current transportation minister to have a serious look at the issues there.
“I want actual action,” she said. “I am starting a petition in about two weeks and I want thousands of signatures on it.”
She said the petition will not be presented to the legislature until the fall setting so there is plenty of opportunity for people to sign it over the summer months and have their voices heard.
MacFarlane said she applauds the efforts of the Barneys River fire department and its success in lobbying the government for highway twinning and hopes the same success will come to this area but in a shorter period of time.
A roundabout could be one solution if it works out in regard to engineering, the environment and financially. However, she agrees with Comeau that removing the sensors from the lights could be a good start to curbing the problem.
“It would be better than what is there right now,” she said.
Comeau said he is seeing some progress in terms of raising awareness and having government look at the intersection, but he won’t be satisfied until the province announces it will putting a roundabout there.
“I know it costs money, but sometimes you have to save a life for the cost of it,” he said.