‘My house has been hit three times’: Vauxhaul area residents call for measures to deter cut-through traffic

Residents on Homan Street are fed up with the volume of traffic cutting through their neighbourhood to avoid busier intersections. Bryan Bicknell reports.

It’s an unlikely trouble spot, in an unlikely problem neighbourhood.

At mid-day on Monday, CTV News captured car after car after car rolling straight through the double stop signs at Homan and Price streets in the Vauxhaul Park neighbourhood.

The problem became front and centre this past Saturday, when two vehicles collided at the corner, both ending up on the front yard of a home.

Homan Street resident Todd Stephens says enough is enough.

“People run through the stop sign right at the end of Brisbin, running right into houses. There’s been three accidents down here at Price and Homan within the last three months, all requiring emergency services,” explained Stephens.

He’s among a group of area residents demanding traffic calming measures, including speed bumps along Homan Street between Egerton Avenue and Brisbin Street, and a four-way stop at Homan and Price streets.

“My house has been hit three times by vehicles,” said Valerie Wald whose home is on Brisbin Street at Homan Street.

The problem became so scary for the long-time resident that she had a large armour stone installed in her front yard to stop eastbound traffic coming off Homan Street from hitting her house.

“The one accident, the engine block came right to a dead stop right here. That tree over there, that’s my third tree that has been replaced due to the accidents. People slide right into that tree, or they come right up on my yard,” Wald explained.

Ward 1 Coun. Hadleigh McAlister says the increase in cut-through traffic is from drivers avoiding busy north-south routes like Adelaide Street and Egerton Avenue, along with both Wellington Road and Highbury Avenue, where construction is ongoing.

He says he’s put in a request for a four-way stop at Homan and Price streets.

“You can actually request stop signs through Service London. So, what I’m asking is if residents really feel that that’s the way they want to go, everyone to go on Service London, fill in that request for a new traffic sign. And really, it’s strength in numbers, so if everyone in the area does it, that will make our case that much stronger,” said McAlister.

In the meantime, residents are calling for immediate action before a child gets hurt.

“We have kids here, we have school buses, and people just don’t seem to care,” said Wald.

“I have four young kids and they’re out in the area rollerblading, biking. And it’s a concern with the amount of traffic that we’ve got whipping through here,” added Stephens.