‘An overwhelming sense of a lack of safety’: Old North residents mobilize to help find solutions to traffic concerns

CTV’s Gerry Dewan with traffic survey results from concerned Old North residents following several serious issues throughout the neighbourhood.

It was early June of this year when a crossing guard was standing on the sidewalk near St. James Street and Colbourne Street. A collision in the intersection sent a car careening in her direction. She was sent to hospital and hasn’t been able to return to work. According to Teresa McLellan, “It really galvanized people to work together. And that’s why our group came together to advocate and work with the city.”

McLellan has joined other Old North residents to form ACTION; Advocates for Calmer Traffic in Old North.

ACTION member Dan Cameron told CTV News that one of the groups’ first acts was to conduct a survey getting input on the traffic issues in the neighbourhood, “We got 235 people from the community responding. That really kind of showed that we have really overwhelming consensus; there is a problem.”

“The survey showed there’s an overwhelming sense of a lack of safety,” said McLellan. “It’s palpable. And that’s only going to get worse.”

ACTION members point to higher traffic volumes on the main thoroughfares as an area of concern. They believe it leads to more cut-through traffic, resulting in impatience, more aggressive driving, and higher speeds.

They’ve identified areas of concern and some possible solutions. As an example, they point to the fact that there are a series of four-way stops along Colborne, however, that’s not the case at St. James and Colborne.

Cameron believes consistency at neighbourhood intersections could help drivers maintain focus, “We have ideas in mind, but we’re not a team of traffic engineers, and we know we need to eventually work with the city toward implementing true solutions.”

McLellan noted that there are traffic bollards, concrete poles standing about a metre high, at all four corners of St. James and Waterloo. She believes similar infrastructure at Colborne and St. James might have protected the crossing guard.

“We know the community is very eager for action, and we’re hearing that,” said Sarah Grady. Grady is Division Manager of Transportation Planning and Design for the City of London.

She added, “But we do want to make sure that we don’t do anything too quickly without thinking it through thoroughly. There’s unintended consequences with that.”

The city is about to launch the Old North Traffic Management Study. They have already hired a consultant to gather data and get feedback.

Grady says a webpage should be online within the next week, “We’re going to be putting up a Get Involved website to allow people to provide feedback through there, as well as get updates on the study.”

A meeting to give the community insights based on the consultant’s analysis will take place in the new year. Grady cautioned that specific modifications may take time to implement, but said all ideas will be on the table, “I certainly expect some traffic calming measures in there. There could be things that limit certain turning movements and other measures that may help mitigate some of that cut-through traffic.”

Grady stressed that, ultimately, every driver should make public safety their top priority.