A solution appears near to a long time pedestrian safety issue near Roseland Public School in Windsor.
A report going to City Council recommends a new policy be adopted to address and consider the installation of traffic safety measures for school crossings on arterial roads, where the current system of evaluation does not apply.
In this case, it could lead to the installation of traffic lights or a pedestrian activated traffic signal on Cabana Road and Clara Avenue/Karen Street, right near Roseland Public School.
Since 2019, Ward 9 Councillor Kieran McKenzie has been advocating for safety improvements for pedestrians and students needing to cross the busy four-lane roadway, with a number of options examined and discussed since then.
McKenzie says the proposed policy is a way forward to evaluate if certain types of traffic safety infrastructure would be warranted at particular intersections.
"Even if it doesn't meet the warrant criteria for a traffic light, because we know there is a group that is going to cross there on a regular basis that do need help to cross the road, children in this case, we're going to put additional traffic safety measures to make sure they cross safely," he says.
McKenzie says the report identifies a traffic light, that would only be activated when someone is there, as being appropriate for the intersection.
"We do have the technology to make it so a traffic light will only cycle within certain times when it's needed to cycle," he says. "That particular intersection, Cabana and Clara, if there wasn't a school there and there wasn't a school crossing at that corner, there would be no need to put a traffic light there."
A study conducted in September 2016, before the widening of Cabana Road, found the average speed to be 55 km/h, reaching 65 km/h among the 85th percentile.
A study conducted in January 2019, after the widening and upgrades were completed, found the average speed was 61 km/h, reaching 69 km/h among the 85th percentile.
He says this is all about getting kids across the street safely, given the traffic volumes and speed issues at that intersection.
"We feel like this is the right type of infrastructure that will only cycle when someone needs to cross, but at the same time it will cycle and create those windows where there is an actual red light that motorists are more likely to respect and not run through," says McKenzie. "I think it's a vast improvement from a safety perspective for the children that are crossing at that intersection."
The cost of a pedestrian signal is $75,000-$100,000 with an estimated annual maintenance costs of $5,500, but there is currently no funding available for it.
McKenzie plans to propose a way to fund the project, sooner rather than later, in a way that does not impact or take away from any approved projects already in the budget.
He hopes if everything is approved, the new safety measures could be in place by Fall 2022.
Windsor City Council meets at 4 p.m. on April 25.