After almost eight months of waiting, the three way traffic light at Catania Avenue and Simcoe Road is now up and running.
On Saturday afternoon, Councillors Gary Baynes and Peter Dykie paid a visit to resident Darshan Bilkhu, who lives near the intersection and had been voicing his concerns over speeding in the area for well over a year.
Bilkhu was happy to see the lights finally in and thanked the councillors for their efforts in making it happen.
“I am thanking all of you people in the town,” he said.
On June 4, 2019, the Traffic Committee brought forward the issue of the intersection at the town council meeting, after receiving multiple complaints like Bilkhu’s, as well as reports of cars clipping the stationed crossing guard.
“There was confusion among some drivers approaching Simcoe Road from Catania Avenue, and concerns about the safety of the many school children who use this intersection morning and afternoon of every school day, and the speeding on Simcoe Road,” said Dykie.
After much debate over how to handle the problem, it was decided that a three way light would be the safest option for the intersection, at a cost of $98,000.
“The full three way stop light solution was decided upon as being the safest for school children and other pedestrians,” commented Coun. Gary Baynes.
“Sometimes safety concerns have to outweigh any cost concerns and this was certainly one of those instances. The right decision was made and the three way stop light solution was approved and it is now fully operational” added Baynes.
The original plan was to have the lights installed by September 2019, before the school year began, but due to vendor and scheduling issues, January was the earliest the project could be slotted in.
“Depending on time of year at that point, many vendors already have their work planned for many months so they have to pass on the job or offer a later target date,” explained Baynes.
The lights are equipped with a “detection loop” sensor so the light changes only as required by traffic.