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by Ed Cowley, freelancer
Morinville Town Council is concerned about traffic safety issues in the community but failed to direct action on a specific concern regarding 107 Avenue east of 100 Street as well as the similar section of 105 Avenue.
Councillor Maurice St. Denis wanted administration to bring recommendations for potential improvements to safety on those streets to the Sept. 13 council meeting. He noted that when vehicles are parked on both sides of the street, the driving surface in those developments is narrow and 50 km per hour is not a safe speed. He noted drivers have to focus on the narrow drive lane and oncoming vehicles, so may not become aware of a child stepping out between parked vehicles early enough. He suggested the town consider possible changes to the speed limit on those streets as well as possibly restricting parking to one side of the street, among potential solutions. He noted the two streets were not intended as east-west thoroughfares but are being used as such by some traffic rather than just serving the neighbourhood.
His motion was defeated in July (on a tie vote) with Mayor Simon Boersma and councillors Ray White and Rebecca Balanko opposed. St. Denis was supported by councillors Scott Richardson and Jenn Anheliger. Coun. Stephen Dafoe had left the meeting.
Balanko pointed out that council should not be making one-off decisions with the engineering standards report pending, a comment which supported the Mayor’s view. Boersma pointed out he had originally brought up the issue regarding the safety of children as pedestrians, noting there are a lot of safety issues to be addressed. White stated that it is unfair for council to enact a parking ban in front of planned or existing housing after those properties have been subdivided and developed. He noted such a decision would impact the owners by dropping the value of their properties.
St. Denis had raised the issue of safety on the same streets at the meeting during an earlier council appearance by Seargant William Norton. While his comments were taken as part of council input into updating or replacing Morinville’s Traffic Safety Bylaw that won’t come back to council until year-end or later.
St. Denis also encouraged scrutiny of school bus pick-up points by the police regarding safety issues resulting from locations where students have to cross the street to catch the bus. Norton responded that school divisions have full authority to designate school bus pickup points, however both the Public and Catholic divisions have been receptive to concerns which he has raised with them in the past. He said they have promptly sent someone out to the site of the concern.
When the town is advised, whether by a councillor or member of the public, about a specific concern for the safety of children council can debate and study as it chooses. However, residents have a right to expect that on the ground the police, Public Works, traffic safety, town CAO or any suitable official will immediately evaluate the situation. If the danger is confirmed the town must promptly mitigate that risk.
A number of strange circumstances merged to muddy the council inaction. Dafoe, the longest serving councillor, had to leave to chair a regional meeting so was unavailable to point out that safety trumps everything. (Every single motion that was considered at the July council meeting passed unanimously—except for the 107 Ave traffic vote that was taken in his absence).
The town CAO position has yet to be filled, so there’s another staff member filling in that role temporarily but that staff member was not at the meeting so a replacement for the replacement was acting in that capacity on the administration side. On the political side the Mayor is a rookie. Boersma has never sat as a councillor or Mayor prior to winning last fall’s election. Neither advised the meeting that town staff would immediately check out the safety issue on the streets.
There were only two councillors present with more than nine months experience, with one on each side of the issue, so their impact on first term councillors cancelled each other. Also the September timeline stated in the defeated resolution dampened what should have been a call for an immediate evaluation of the safety concern (the report can be done in September or October but the initial risk evaluation and possible mitigation can’t).
Yes, these are just excuses but perhaps it explains the failure of anyone to state during the meeting that the town will immediately evaluate the safety of traffic on 105 Ave and any point along 107 Ave where vehicles routinely parking on both sides of the street.
You have to fix the situation if you live and drive on 105 or 107 Ave. If you have to inhale, clamp your elbows to your ribs and clench while praying you don’t meet a dually pickup truck or have a child emerge from between vehicles then you need to email council and let them know. If enough people believe the situation is dangerous council can take action at its Aug. 23 meeting with a speed limit reduction until a more permanent solution is found in October by exerts. (Inhaling and clenching probably doesn’t make your vehicle narrower but gives it moral support).
Similarly, if you feel that 50 is a safe speed on those streets, email council and let them know your view.
The best decisions are made when residents actively participate in the process.
People cannot use I am new to this position and don’t know what we can and cannot do. They made a conscious decision to become members of council, and in so doing should educate themselves on what their positions are. Also some common sense would also help in their decisions.
I have lived on the 105 th for a number of years now and the speed limit should be lowered. People have a right to park in front of their home but not at the expense of children’s safety. Speed bumps may also be a deterrent to speeding.
In the interests of simplicity why not make all residential streets 40 km? That might slow people down to 50.