A “serious safety risk” along Hampton Road near Kennebecasis Valley High School has Quispamsis councillors requesting help from provincial officials.
The town has asked the province to install a rapid-flash beacon at a crosswalk near Kennebecasis Baptist Church and reduce the speed limit in the area.
Coun. Mike Biggar said with more students being driven to and from school due to COVID-19, the parking lot at the church is being used as an overflow pick-up and drop-off zone.
But Biggar, who put forward the motion at last week’s meeting, said the current crosswalk was not properly designed to accommodate the increase in students.
“I saw about 30 cars probably in that parking lot picking up kids and it was daunting to see the kids getting across the road,” Biggar said.
With winter just around the corner, Biggar said he is concerned the situation is going to become riskier.
“If we think it’s in the best interest of those kids to change this, I don’t think we can make a case to wait until the summer of next year to make changes there,” he said.
Because Hampton Road is a provincial highway, the town would need approval from the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DTI) to add flashing beacons or change the speed limit.
Council is also asking for the province to fund the flashing beacons as the town’s 2021 budget for traffic-calming measures has been used up.
Questions were raised during the meeting as the speed limit is not lower near KV High School like it is near Quispamsis Elementary, Harry Miller Middle and Rothesay High schools, which are also along Hampton Road.
Gary Losier, the town’s engineering director, said they were told in the past that KV High School was not considered for a lower speed limit as the school does not front onto Hampton Road.
“That having been said, Coun. Biggar’s motion and his correspondence is the appropriate way to request the changes to be made and ultimately DTI would do then their own warrant analysis,” he said.
As for having the province pay for the flashing beacons at the crosswalk, Losier said he has no past examples of DTI funding them, but that will not stop the town from asking.
“They may have this equipment in inventory,” he said. “We just don’t have the budget to carry an inventory of these units. If we get them, they have a specific location planned.”
A set of flashing beacons plus installations costs would run in the range of around $8,500, said Losier.
The engineering director was also asked if there are any temporary measures that could be put in place in the meantime.
“The only temporary measure that we’ve seen used that’s effective was at the elementary school was actual crossing guards, and I doubt you’re going to get high school kids to pay attention to a crossing guard,” said Losier.
