Marysville residents have expressed concerns to Kimberley City Council about a potentially dangerous intersection where 307th Avenue crosses Highway 95A.
Pamela Macek and Leanne Colombo of Kimberley wrote to Council, local MLA’s and the Ministry of Transportation stating, “that the intersection, which holds three different businesses: Petro-Canada, Timber Hitch and Koffee Kan, is a regularly used pedestrian crossing with no crosswalks or safety features provided to ensure the safety of drivers and pedestrians”.
“There are several major reasons why a pedestrian activated special crosswalk is an essential installation for this location, many of which are listed in the Pedestrian Crossing Control Manual for British Columbia as factors to be considered in the installation of such a crosswalk,” wrote Colombo.
She cited pedestrian volume, pedestrian age and ability, roadway width, vehicular volume, visibility conditions, proximity to adjacent pavement marking, signs, or signals and accident history.
READ MORE: B.C. youth work to clean up burnout left on another rainbow crosswalk
Council discussed the letters at a regular meeting on Monday, and Mayor Don McCormick explained that he will bring this issue forward to a meeting with the Minister of Transportation that will soon take place.
He says that the trouble lies within the fact that Highway 95A is not Kimberley’s responsibility but rather that of the Province.
“The Ministry usually relies on RCMP data in terms of safety issues…data is an important part of their consideration,” said McCormick. “This is an extremely busy section of road and it’s definitely worthwhile to bring this forward. I’m confident we’ll get a good hearing on this.”
Councillor Darryl Oakley says that Council should be proactive in supporting the citizens of Marysville and their safety.
“Waiting for someone to get hurt is not good,” he said.
Councillor Jason McBain agreed, saying it’s important to be proactive when it comes to pedestrian safety.
CAO Scott Sommerville said, “these letters are very well written and there are some very specific recommendations, but what does proactive mean? The highway is not the City’s responsibility – we need to advocate for these citizens [by bringing it to the Ministry].”
There was some discussion about the potential of a pedestrian overpass, or as Colombo had suggested in her letter, a special crosswalk with a pedestrian controlled signal.
Council also discussed the fact that there are several other pedestrian crosswalks in the general vicinity, which are available for pedestrians to use to cross the road safely.
corey.bullock@kimberleybulletin.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
