Speed limit at busy intersection being reduced

A busy intersection in Amherstburg will soon be seeing a change.

Manager of transportation, planning and infrastructure Jerry Behl recommended during last Wednesday night’s Essex County council meeting that the speed limit on County Road 20, near Lowes Side Road, be reduced from 70 km/hr down to 50 km/hr, 50 metres south of Dalhousie St.

According to Behl, administration conducted a traffic operations and safety review of the intersection including an assessment of existing conditions, surrounding land use, current and posted speeds, collision data and pedestrian crossing desire lines.

“We found there is a mix of land use. There is different kind of land use including a care home, pharmacy and a hotel as well. A mid-block crossing at that location did not seem appropriate,” said Behl.

Since July of last year, Amherstburg councillor Diane Pouget has been adamant about getting safety issues at the intersection addressed.

Amherstburg Mayor Michael Prue corrected Behl and said the aforementioned hotel reference is actually the Blue Haven Apartments and that many of the tenants require wheelchairs.

“These are people who have very limited access and their access is to go out onto the road and some how across to the pharmacy and everything on the other side,” said Prue.

Behl said that since the intersection is a connecting one, if the town wants a cross-walk, that it will be responsible for creating it.

“I guess the ball is now in our court,” said Prue.

Road safety is a big issue for Essex County as earlier in the meeting county resident Mary Brownlee had concerns about the intersection of County Roads 18 and 15 in Essex which she noted has seen accidents that have resulted in serious collisions and fatalities.

“Thank you for coming and advocating,” said Amherstburg Deputy Mayor Chris Gibb. “We sit here and see spreadsheets and charts and it’s important to hear that there are actual people who use these roads. It’s important for everyone to concentrate on road safety across the county.

Earlier in the evening, Behl presented an update on the county’s proposed Road Safety Management Plan. He said that with the help of a consultant, the county has done a network screening of over 1,000 intersections.

Those have been rated on which ones should be addressed first and there are some that can be taken care of immediately.

“If things are quiet and easy, we are just going to do them,” said Behl.

While the proposed five-year plan is in the development process, he did note, “we are going to prioritize. We are going to look at reduction in collisions.” 

Speed limit at busy intersection being reduced

By Fred Groves