Safety issues have been raised about the crossing near the Highbury Canco plant
Leamington council has made the decision to remove a courtesy crossing on Erie St. near the Highbury Canco entrance.
With no lights and only signage at the crossing, the area has become a concern for the town.
This from mayor Hilda MacDonald who says there have been a number of close calls and even a fatal injury in 2017 due to the fact drivers and pedestrians aren't paying enough attention.
Leamington mayor Hilda MacDonald discussing the removal of a courtesy crossing on Erie St. near Highbury Canco on April 24, 2019 (Photo courtesy of CTV Windsor)
Council was presented with several options for the crossing including reducing the number of lanes or installing a $175,000 fully lit pedestrian crossing.
MacDonald says the majority of those who use the crossing are Highbury Canco employees and residents made it clear they weren't willing to pay for the upgrades.
"We listened to our residents and our taxpayers were not willing to pay for the cost of the intersection either. That was a consideration," she says. "It's about the greater good as well and when the greater good is saying we do not want to pay for this, this should not be our responsibility, we have to listen to that."
MacDonald says the crossing gives the impression it's a safe place to cross the road, but that's not the case.
"We started paying attention to what was going on at that intersection and we all decided that we have given the impression that it's a safe place to cross and given the amount of traffic and human inattention, we didn't feel it was safe any longer," she says.
MacDonald says they'll be looking to Highbury Canco to make an adjustment as well.
"It's on the employees to pay attention to the fact that this is not safe. It's up to the employer to tell the employees that this is not safe. We have done what we thought was the best and they need to follow through on it," she says.
With the courtesy crossing closed, residents are being told to use the much safer signalized crossing at Erie and Oak St., about 150-metres away.
Image of Morgan Harder via Reid Funeral Home in Leamington
The town currently in a lawsuit tied to the courtesy crossing.
The family of Morgan Harder has taken legal action against the municipality and two other individuals after the 18-year-old was struck and killed while using the crossing on his way into work in May 2017.