Region reverses stop sign stance
Four-way stop coming to Line 3 and Four Mile Creek Road in Niagara-on-the-Lake
There is disagreement on the numbers, but no one is questioning that the intersection of Four Mile Creek Road and Line 3 in Niagara-on-the-Lake is dangerous.
And it will be getting a fourway stop, and other safety improvements, after a regional council vote Thursday reversed an earlier decision by the public works committee.
Paolo Miele, a Niagara-on-the-Lake town councillor, told regional councillors the intersection has become increasingly treacherous over the past five years.
Line 3, which has a stop sign, crosses Four Mile Creek Road on an angle. There are also hydro poles that some people feel interfere with a driver’s line of sight on Line 3.
“It’s a unique intersection, and we don’t know fully why the accidents are occurring, but they are occurring,” he said. “The tourism season is upon us, and we need to ensure there are no accidents, or at least they are minimized. We have had 28 collisions in the last five years and a fatality.”
The Region’s accounting of the carnage totalled 14 in the past five years. Both numbers came from the same source — Niagara Regional Police.
Nonetheless, 14 was more than enough to justify the extra attention from the Region, which has jurisdiction over the road.
Ron Tripp, the Region’s commissioner of public works, said an outside expert was hired last month to do a comprehensive review of the intersections and recommend changes.
The stop sign was the most cost-effective. Further upgrades could include a traffic circle or a stoplight.
Also last month, the Region’s public works committee voted to hold off on the four-way stop sign but approved lowering the area speed limit and improving the markings.
The full council’s vote Thursday overturned that decision on the four-way stop. Committee members were concerned that once the sign was in place, it would be permanent. There were also worries the stop sign would divert vehicles onto other roads.
The committee was hoping further study could yield a better solution.
Niagara-on-the-Lake Lord Mayor Pat Darte said drivers in his town couldn’t wait any longer.
“To defer it any longer makes it a worst-case scenario,” Darte warned.
The conditions at the intersection prompted Miele to post a 20-minute video on social media of the aftermath of a serious collision. In the video, which was filmed April 12, he implored the Region to take action on safety measures.
Tripp told the committee that the majority of the accidents are occurring from drivers that stop on Line Three and then proceeding into the intersection.