'Absolutely horrendous': City exploring options for lights at St. James Costco

‘Traffic here is absolutely horrendous’ A proposal at city hall could make it easier to get in and out of a Winnipeg Costco. Jeff Keele reports.

A proposal at city hall could make it safer and easier to get in and out of a Winnipeg Costco.

Officials are trying to work out a deal with the grocery store chain to install a set of traffic lights at the north entrance of the St. James location.

The current situation sees police on scene at times to direct drivers – the cost of which comes at Costco's expense.

A local business in the area has been keeping track of crashes over the years.

Abby Boivin has owned the Living Canvas Tattoo shop across the street for 10 years and said there's so many collisions because of the uncontrolled intersection. It’s so many that the former automotive business on site used to keep track of them.

"When we were tearing the building down, they had a tally behind a wall that we tore down that said ‘Costco accidents,’ and it was all the line checks and the cross for five, so we kept it going," said Boivin.

The city hopes there will be fewer tallies marked on the wall. A new report at city hall says the intersection meets the criteria for a new set of lights.

It says a review of reported collisions on this stretch indicates a number of crashes referencing the Costco, and that new traffic lights would cut down on the problem.

"Traffic here is absolutely horrendous," said Coun. Shawn Dobson (St. James).

He noted the move to bring in lights is long overdue.

"The residents basically say leaving Costco is extremely hard and extremely dangerous. Turning right, turning left - it doesn't make any difference. You can't see the oncoming traffic."

The city is set to talk with Costco's management about working out an agreement on installation costs with the company, as this is a privately owned approach.

"Whether Costco chips in or not, this is something that we should have done when Costco was first put in. Right now, let's just make it safe for everyone," said Dobson.

The decision could also come down to what happens on the city's western edge. A fourth Costco could be setting up shop near Assiniboia Downs, and a report suggests that could draw traffic away from the St. James location.

If city officials can work out an agreement with Costco for a set of lights, then another report would come to the public works committee for approval.

CTV News Winnipeg has reached out to Costco for comment and has yet to hear back.