A Charlottetown resident who lives on McGill Avenue wants something done about speeding and motorists who ignore stop signs.
Frank Nicholson said speed is an issue on North River Road, while the intersection he’s talking about is where McGill meets North River Road.
“I walk dogs on a regular basis and when I cross that street I literally take my life in my hands,’’ Nicholson told The Guardian on Wednesday. “The stop sign (at the intersection) is used only as an option. Some people ignore it completely.’’
The issue of speeding and other highway traffic violations comes up every single month at Charlottetown city council meetings. The Guardian decided to highlight one particular neighbourhood – Ward 3 – and ask some residents where they see problems.
The city’s protective and emergency services committee also released statistics pointing out where speeding fines were issued by police in the month of May.
RELATED: More speed zone trouble spots
“Last week, one night I was out, coming from (my house) on McGill and when I stepped out (into the crosswalk) a car just shot right past the two of us. He didn’t even stop at the stop sign.’’
Nicholson said he would like to see more traffic calming measures in place and the police to pay more attention.
Travis Saunders, who lives near Nicholson, said he spends many breakfasts just waiting to hear the crunch of a motor vehicle collision at the McGill/North River Road intersection.
“You’ll see cars just blowing through the stop sign, not even slowing down,’’ Saunders said. “You just look out early in the morning, and they’ll roll right through. People going through the stop signs too quickly is the thing that really scares me.
“There are a lot of hedges in our neighbourhood, so it’s not hard for somebody, say Frank walking a dog or me walking with my son, to kind of pop out.’’
Saunders also noted that sidewalks on North River Road, between Nassau Street and Brighton Road, are discontinuous, and that poses a safety hazard for not only residents but junior high and high school students in the area.
“If you wanted to walk from, say, Nassau (Street) down to Victoria Park you have to cross the street three or four times, which is dangerous but also makes it difficult if you’re someone with limited mobility.’’
Paul Jenkins of Queen Elizabeth Drive told The Guardian speed is also an issue, especially the curve where the street turns into Charlotte Drive.
“There is no sidewalk on Charlotte Drive and that’s a major problem. It’s a narrow street. We’ve had several near-accidents up there,’’ Jenkins said, referring to motorists who speed up going around the turn onto Queen Elizabeth. “It’s a very dangerous area. I’d like to see sidewalks on Charlotte Drive.’’
City councillors seem to be listening.
Mike Duffy, who represents the area, has brought his concerns up repeatedly while Kevin Ramsay, who represents Ward 5 (Spring Park) asked on Monday how he can start getting some portable speed bumps into his area.
Jason Coady, chairman of the protective and emergency services committee, said the police department will set up radar in an area to collect data and if speed is identified as an issue, public works can bring in the speed bumps.
“It’s a collective effort,’’ Coady says. “I’m sure we could use them on three-quarters of the city’s streets.’’
Mayor Clifford Lee says the city has eight portable speed bumps, but he feels it is vital that decisions on where they go stay in the hands of the police department.
“City council isn’t the chair of police. We can’t have six different police chiefs. We have one. Let him do his job,’’ Lee said.
A Charlottetown resident who lives on McGill Avenue wants something done about speeding and motorists who ignore stop signs.
Frank Nicholson said speed is an issue on North River Road, while the intersection he’s talking about is where McGill meets North River Road.
“I walk dogs on a regular basis and when I cross that street I literally take my life in my hands,’’ Nicholson told The Guardian on Wednesday. “The stop sign (at the intersection) is used only as an option. Some people ignore it completely.’’
The issue of speeding and other highway traffic violations comes up every single month at Charlottetown city council meetings. The Guardian decided to highlight one particular neighbourhood – Ward 3 – and ask some residents where they see problems.
The city’s protective and emergency services committee also released statistics pointing out where speeding fines were issued by police in the month of May.
RELATED: More speed zone trouble spots
“Last week, one night I was out, coming from (my house) on McGill and when I stepped out (into the crosswalk) a car just shot right past the two of us. He didn’t even stop at the stop sign.’’
Nicholson said he would like to see more traffic calming measures in place and the police to pay more attention.
Travis Saunders, who lives near Nicholson, said he spends many breakfasts just waiting to hear the crunch of a motor vehicle collision at the McGill/North River Road intersection.
“You’ll see cars just blowing through the stop sign, not even slowing down,’’ Saunders said. “You just look out early in the morning, and they’ll roll right through. People going through the stop signs too quickly is the thing that really scares me.
“There are a lot of hedges in our neighbourhood, so it’s not hard for somebody, say Frank walking a dog or me walking with my son, to kind of pop out.’’
Saunders also noted that sidewalks on North River Road, between Nassau Street and Brighton Road, are discontinuous, and that poses a safety hazard for not only residents but junior high and high school students in the area.
“If you wanted to walk from, say, Nassau (Street) down to Victoria Park you have to cross the street three or four times, which is dangerous but also makes it difficult if you’re someone with limited mobility.’’
Paul Jenkins of Queen Elizabeth Drive told The Guardian speed is also an issue, especially the curve where the street turns into Charlotte Drive.
“There is no sidewalk on Charlotte Drive and that’s a major problem. It’s a narrow street. We’ve had several near-accidents up there,’’ Jenkins said, referring to motorists who speed up going around the turn onto Queen Elizabeth. “It’s a very dangerous area. I’d like to see sidewalks on Charlotte Drive.’’
City councillors seem to be listening.
Mike Duffy, who represents the area, has brought his concerns up repeatedly while Kevin Ramsay, who represents Ward 5 (Spring Park) asked on Monday how he can start getting some portable speed bumps into his area.
Jason Coady, chairman of the protective and emergency services committee, said the police department will set up radar in an area to collect data and if speed is identified as an issue, public works can bring in the speed bumps.
“It’s a collective effort,’’ Coady says. “I’m sure we could use them on three-quarters of the city’s streets.’’
Mayor Clifford Lee says the city has eight portable speed bumps, but he feels it is vital that decisions on where they go stay in the hands of the police department.
“City council isn’t the chair of police. We can’t have six different police chiefs. We have one. Let him do his job,’’ Lee said.
Speed zone trouble spots
Following is a snapshot of where and how many fines for speeding Charlottetown police handed out in May:
University Avenue, near Enman Crescent – 35
Bypass highway, near Oak Drive – 30
St. Peters Road, near MacWilliams Road – 13
University Avenue, near Belvedere Avenue – 8
University Avenue, near Brown’s Court – 7
Route 2, near Stockman street – 7
(All other streets were at six tickets handed out or fewer)
