An Armstrong intersection close to three city schools is under review.
Council has directed staff to conduct some research into the intersection of Pleasant Valley Road and Rosedale Avenue, where students and staff from Armstrong Elementary School, Len Wood Middle School and Pleasant Valley Secondary School, along with other residents, habitually cross.
“That corner on Rosedale has been a fairly big accident scene,” said Mayor Chris Pieper.
“People fly over the sidewalks in their cars. It’s a very busy sidewalk with all of the schools around there. We want to do our due diligence to see how we can improve it.”
There is a pedestrian light at the intersection, but the problem, particularly in winter, is drivers heading north on Pleasant Valley Road driving too fast when making a right-turn at the large sweeping corner.
Vehicles have ended up sliding through the intersection, hitting cars or a fence behind a sidewalk on the north side of Rosedale Avenue.
Following consultation with engineers from the city and ICBC’s Road Safety department, Armstrong public works manager Pat Hickerson presented four options for council to consider.
The one option favoured by ICBC would be shortening the curb radius so drivers have to slow down and make more of a 90-degree corner.
“That was the preferred interim option the ICBC engineer recommended, if we do anything,” said Hickerson, who estimated such an undertaking would cost approximately $15,000 to $20,000.
Other options before council include installing a traffic island, which would cost around $5,000.
But Hickerson said it’s not really a viable option as there is not enough room to put in an island large enough and go far enough up Rosedale to prevent sliding through the intersection.
Council could spend around $10,000 to install concrete no-post barriers along the sidewalk.
And, the most expensive option would be installing a traffic light or something along that line if warranted.
A traffic light, Hickerson estimates, would cost between $125,000 and $250,000.
Council received the recommendations and will wait for more information from staff.
The city will be conducting a traffic incident study with the RCMP and ICBC to see how many accidents have happened at the intersection.