A bid to make two temporary all-way stops into permanent fixtures fell flat at Monday’s council meeting, with city staff highlighting the city could be liable for accidents at "unwarranted" stops.
During the reconstruction project along Laclie Street, all-way stops were installed at the intersections of Brant Street East and Matchedash Street, as well as Tecumseth Street and Lightfoot Drive, with Coun. Tim Lauer previously arguing construction led to higher volumes of traffic on neighbouring streets.
At Monday’s council meeting, Lauer made a pitch to see the temporary stops become permanent, pointing out residents have sent letters saying they made a difference in the neighbourhood.
“They've been well received and worked as they were intended,” Lauer said of the Brant and Matchedash intersection. “The letters that you have received are all people that have lived in that area for a long, long time.
“I would ask council to support this neighbourhood in their attempt to make this a four-way stop.”
However, city staff quickly pointed out neither intersection met the warrants set out in the Ontario Traffic Manual for vehicle volume, combined vehicle and pedestrian volume, or traffic volume split.
“Following the Ontario Traffic Manual, they highlight … that unwarranted stop signs may increase litigation,” said Steven Murphy, the city's project engineer.
“If you were to deviate from the standards, they may be defensible, but such variations must be supported by sound technical reasoning and well documented rationale," said Murphy.
“I can't produce any sound technical reasoning or well documented rationale on why they should be there, so that's just something for council to be aware of.”
Coun. David Campbell said the decision was “a difficult one,” as resident feedback on the stops differed from the Ontario Traffic Manual warrants.
“Of course, if the people who live there feel it's making a difference and it helps, then we should support that,” he said. “But with what (staff) just said in mind, I also have to keep in mind the best interests of all of the taxpayers, and if this could potentially put all of those taxpayers in a precarious situation in terms of lawsuit or legal issues, it's pretty difficult to support it, so that's a tough one.”
Ultimately, council voted against making the all-way stops permanent at either intersection, as per staff’s recommendation, but they amended the motion to receive the report as information at this time — meaning it could be brought up again in the future.
“I don't feel that we've had — I'm using air quotes — ‘normal’ year down there to really look at what traffic's going to look like,” said Campbell. “I think the results may end up being warranted if we redo this, look at it during a ‘normal’ year … so if we add ‘at this time’ to the end of this, then down the road we can revisit."
