Residents consider intersection unsafe

A turning lane and crosswalk added to Highway 7 in Black Diamond that was intended to improve safety had the opposite effect, say some residents.

The turning lane was built to direct traffic north onto 3rd Street NE towards the new Tim Hortons while moving eastbound traffic to the right, and the crosswalk was added to give pedestrians a safe route to the popular restaurant. Both were added last summer.

Area residents say the changes are unsafe for motorists trying to access the highway from 3rd Street SE and for pedestrians crossing the busy highway.

“It’s far too dangerous,” said Audrey Mantik. “It’s called suicide corner now.”

Mantik said the turning lane forces traffic traveling east to move closer to a retaining wall west of 3rd Street, reducing visibility.

“If you want to go out from 3rd Street you can’t see the cars coming because of the retaining wall,” she said.

Mantik said she, her husband and several residents in the area now use another road to access Highway 7.

“It just adds a little bit of time and more kilometers on your vehicle,” she said. “For safety sake, that’s the way to go.”

Rod Ross, Black Diamond planning and development officer, said the Town has been working with Alberta Transportation to come up with a temporary solution.

“They put it in the Town’s hands so we are going to work with our consulting engineers to develop a concept for that,” he said. “We will work with our consultant and see ultimately what we want to do, what is most suitable.”

Ross said Black Diamond council, Town staff and the Province have discussed the possibility of making 3rd Street SE a one-way street or closing access to the highway as possible solutions.

“It’s a priority for council,” said Ross of finding a solution. “We don’t have a defined timeline, but we’ll be looking to take action shortly.”

At Black Diamond council’s Oct. 25 meeting, Ross told council the intersection will require traffic signals within the next 10 years, correlating with future development in the area.

“We know what the long-term solution is,” said Ross. “We are trying to figure out an acceptable solution for safety at the moment.”

Town council approved the purchase of rapid-flashing solar lights at its Oct. 19 meeting to install at either end of the crosswalk using Municipal Sustainability Initiative funding.

“There is a safety concern on that particular crosswalk,” said chief administrative officer Sharlene Brown. “There’s been a number of concerns - near misses and numerous complaints since Tim Hortons opened. We need to do something about that intersection or someone is going to get hurt.”

Installing the pedestrians lights will require approval by Alberta Transportation, but Brown said the Town needed to take immediate action to order the equipment. If they’re not approved, the Town can install them somewhere else, she said.

Mantik believes the crosswalk will be dangerous even with flashing lights.

“If someone sees the pedestrian lights flashing and they stop, the next guy will ram into them,” she said. “I don’t think it’s going to be safe for the pedestrian or the cars coming up that hill. It needs to be really studied and looked into before they sit around a table and start passing stuff.”

Mantik said too many people exceed the posted speed limit of 50 km/hr on that stretch of highway.

Black Diamond senior peace officer Jim Berry said speeds often range between 45 to 60 km/hr.

Berry added there have been no accidents reported at that intersection since the turning lane and crosswalk were added and there have been three accidents in the past four years.

Kevin Sieben, who moved into the condos on 1st Avenue SE last summer, considers the intersection dangerous and wants to see a solution in the near future.

“Because of that cement retaining wall you have to actually stick the nose of your car out quite a bit,” he said. “Some will slow down a bit, most just keep going.”

Eileen Brownell, who also lives in the condos, expressed her concerns to council at its Oct. 25 meeting.

“That’s a very dangerous corner, as I know you are all aware of now,” she said. “When the government is fooling around trying to figure out what the hell they are going to do someone is going to get hurt at that corner.”