|
No 3-way stop on Brant Hill
By LYN TREMBLAY
Deputations who appeared at last week’s Norfolk County Council Meeting were able to convince councillors to change their mind about installing a three-way stop on Brant Hill.
In the week previous, during a Council-In-Committee Meeting, councillors sided with staff recommendations, agreeing to install stop signs on Brant, Passmore and Dean Avenues. It was felt the signs would improve the safety of drivers needing to exit off of Brant Avenue onto the main thoroughfare which ends at the Port Dover Harbour Marina/fishing basin. (Dean becomes Passmore at Brant Avenue).
But last week, residents Sonny Lowe and his son Brooks, residents in the area, also Jim Pepper whose family owns Harold Pepper & Sons Ltd. trucking company, voiced their concerns about the situation. “I believe these stop signs (on Passmore and Dean) would make the situation worse. My family backs our cars out of our driveway into this intersection every day. In my four years I have yet to see any accidents or even a near miss,” stated Brooks Lowe.
Mr. Lowe’s father Sonny, who lives on Dean Avenue reminded councillors that large trucks haul fish up the steep hill two or three times a day. “If they stop and then roll backwards, that’s a big concern,” he stated. “There are also no sidewalks and tourists walk up that hill to go into town and my wife Jean walks the dogs on that hill. That is a real worry to me.”
Mr. Pepper stated, “When trucks are full they weigh 50,000 to 80,000 pounds. Making them stop there is going to cause a lot more problems.”
Councillor Harold Sonnenberg spoke from his personal experience as a truck driver. “A trucker’s worse nightmare is to have to stop on a hill.” He felt boaters pulling trailers would also increase the risks of an accident happening.
It was suggested that hedges and tree branches obstructing views in the area could be removed or trimmed. General Manager of Public Works and Environmental Services Eric D’Hondt stated, “there are no sight triangles in that area. We have been informed we do not have the right to trim or remove hedges. They are not on our property. Property owners have flatly refused to let us trim any tree branches.”
Councillor John Wells weighed in on the issue. “My concern boils down to safety. There are two issues -- trucks stopping and the safety of people pulling out onto Brant. With 1,500 to 2,000 vehicles using that road on a weekend, and add to that people walking on the road coming up from the marina, with no stop signs you are still leaving my community with a safety issue. If you don’t have a stop sign you still have a problem. What are you going to do for the people of my community?”
In the end, councillors instructed staff to investigate the legality of removing plant growth from private property and to move existing signage that warns of a hidden intersection to a more visible location.
Councillors John Wells and John Hunt favoured the installation of stop signs and thus voted against the motion.
-- Wednesday, May 16, 2007
<< Return to News
|
|
