Additional crosswalks not warranted on Holmes Hill
Although there’s been continued requests from Hantsport residents to have two crosswalks installed along Holmes Hill Road, West Hants council will not be painting white lines anytime soon.
At council’s committee of the whole meeting March 27, an information report was presented by the municipal engineer, Rick Sherrard, who serves as West Hants’ traffic authority.
The report concluded that no additional pedestrian crossings on Holmes Hill were warranted.
Last fall, Hantsport resident Jane Davis aired her concerns about the safety of crossing the street. Her concern came about after one of the two sidewalks on Holmes Hill was removed due to a construction project. As part of Hantsport’s dissolution into the Municipality of West Hants, the roadway was upgraded. Construction began in the fall of 2016 and wrapped up in 2017. Davis said when there were two sidewalks, the need for additional crosswalks was not there.
Holmes Hill Road stretches about one kilometre and connects Bog Road, in Falmouth, to Main Street, in Hantsport.
In February 2018, Davis made a formal request to the county to have two crosswalks installed, one at the intersection of Mariner Drive, the other at the entrance of Riverbank Drive.
An information report was prepared and presented to council March 27.
“The issue of crosswalks is an operational issue so normally this wouldn’t come to the council level, however there has been significant discussion around the crosswalks, in particular within Hantsport, so we felt it important that an information report be provided... so council can be aware of the rationale behind some of the decisions that are made,” said Martin Laycock, the municipality’s chief administrative officer, before asking Sherrard to take the lead.
Sherrard said they use the Pedestrian Crossing Control Guide and the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Canada, which are produced by the Transportation Association of Canada, to aid in the decision-making process.
Using a decision tool matrix, it was determined that the location did not meet the criteria for the installation of crosswalks.
From Oct. 3-17, 2017, traffic volumes were documented continuously. The highest daily volume for the area was 1,194, with an average daily volume of 1,074 vehicles. When weighed against the number of pedestrians that were observed, the data didn’t meet the criteria of installing crosswalks.
Coun. Robbie Zwicker, who represents Hantsport, spoke in favour of at least one crosswalk being added near Mariner Drive. He said vehicles were speeding down Holmes Hill, from the Bog Road, now that the street has been transformed.
Sherrard said speeding is a good reason to not install a pedestrian crossing point at either of the proposed sites.
“That would be the first reason we would not put a mid-block crosswalk,” said Sherrard.
He recommended council contact the RCMP and advise them of the speeding issue. Additionally, he said the safest crosswalks are ones at clear intersections.
“No matter the jurisdiction you go to, the idea of mid-block crossings are always difficult. If the motoring public aren’t expecting them, there’s less compliance,” said Sherrard. “There’s a false sense of security just because you paint some lines on a street or put a sign up. The safest is a place where a vehicle needs to stop.”
Zwicker asked what would be the harm in council approving a crosswalk even though the staff report didn’t recommend it.
He was cautioned that should there be an accident, the municipality could be held liable.
Bill Preston, who has since written a letter to the editor about the subject, spoke on the issue during the public input session later that night. He questioned how accurate the matrix was (less people would be walking in October than in the summertime) and said the speed of the cars should be taken into consideration as well.
He lobbied to have council change its mind on the matter.
“It only takes one car to kill somebody or injure them,” he noted.
It was decided that staff could always revisit the issue in the future if conditions change or new information becomes available.