By Mark Squibb / July 7, 2023
Councillor Bill Antle had an impassioned plea to bring forward during this week’s public meeting. He wants the City to find a safer way for hikers, bikers and walkers to get across busy Commonwealth Avenue near where it intersects the T’railway.
The councillor shared a firsthand account of how dangerous the crossing, which is located between two busy sets of traffic lights on Topsail Road and the intersection with Park Avenue, can be.
Last weekend, Antle said, he took a bike ride along the T’railway and came to Commonwealth Road. Rather than try crossing the busy road, Antle biked up Commonwealth to the Park Avenue/Ruth Avenue intersection. Ahead of him were a group of about seven boys who were also biking. Antle said the boys were waiting for their turn to cross, and attempted to cross the street once the crosswalk light indicated it was their turn to do so.
“They pushed the button, and they waited their turn,” said Antle. “But as they moved out, cars were blowing horns, and people were yelling at them and telling them to get off the road. But it was their right to be on the crosswalk. And that area is so busy, you have Commonwealth Avenue, you have Park Avenue, you have Ruth Avenue, and the traffic is so fast. I think somebody is going to get hurt. We have to fix that crosswalk. We have talked about it in council and the reason I’m bringing it up now is to let the public know that we are concerned.”
Antle said he would like the matter brought to committee for further review, and see an actual crosswalk installed where the T’railway crosses Commonwealth.
“If Paradise can do it, and St. John’s can do it, why can’t Mount Pearl do it?” said Antle. “I cross Karwood Drive in Paradise, I cross McNamara Drive in Paradise, I cross Topsail Road, and I cross Kings Bridge Road, and they all have very similar crosswalks. How come we can’t find a way? I’ve been on council five years and it’s been five years trying to fix this. If someone gets hurt, it’s too late.”
Antle said he brought the matter forward publicly so that folks would know the City is investigating the matter.
Councillor Jim Locke, whose longer tenure on council has given him a lot of familiarity with discussions about the situation, said he doesn’t believe a crosswalk is warranted where the T’railway crosses Commonwealth.
“I bike ride as well, and I always use the designated crosswalk,” said Locke. “We’ve discussed this multiple times at committee… because of the hill, because of the speed of the traffic coming down Commonwealth Avenue, because of the close proximity to the intersection at Commonwealth, Ruth, and Park, the Transportation Association of Canada did not recommend, and actually suggested, that putting a crosswalk in there could increase the danger and increase the hazard.”
Locke said the crosswalk at the intersection is fully-functional, and it only takes a few minutes to walk up Commonwealth, cross the road at the intersection, and the walk back down along the other side of Commonwealth and back onto the T’railway.
“We have a fully functioning crosswalk up there and until it can be proven to me that it’s safe to do it, I will not support installing a crosswalk down by the T ’railway,” said Locke. “If the experts tell me that it’s unsafe, I am not prepared to install something that can increase or enhance risk to our cyclists or pedestrians who may use it.”
Locke said he would agree with an investigation into the crosswalk at the Ruth Avenue/Park Avenue intersection, and suggested widening the sidewalk or re-aligning traffic flow may address Antle’s safety concerns.
He added, to Antle’s point about other municipalities installing lighted crosswalks to accommodate people using the T’railway, that factors such as sightlines and traffic flow at each location must be taken into account.
“A crosswalk isn’t a crosswalk isn’t a crosswalk,” said Locke. “And so, until the data shows that we can install a crosswalk there and do it safely, I’m not prepared to support that. But, I am prepared to support investigating the existing, legitimate crosswalk, and if we can improve on that to enhance the safety of our pedestrians and cyclists, I’ll happily discuss that at committee.”
Councillor Mark Rice agreed with Antle, comparing the area to a racetrack and saying anyone attempting to cross Commonwealth is taking their life in their own hands.
“It is a dangerous intersection because you have so much traffic coming from all directions,” said Rice.
He did allow that should the Team Gushue Highway ever be completed, traffic in the area may decrease. Rice suggested council look at either modifying the intersection or creating a new crosswalk near the T’railway as other communities have done.
Councillor Isabelle Fry, who had served on the Infrastructure and Public Works committee while the issue was being discussed at committee level, also spoke to the matter.
“For a number of reasons, it had been decided to not place a crosswalk there at Commonwealth Avenue at the entrance of the trail,” said Fry. “But since then, there have been so many crosswalks that are very similar and in close proximity to all of the reasons why we had originally turned it down. I think it’s definitely worth investigating, and I would love to see this go back to committee. And like Councilor Rice has said, if other municipalities can do it, then we can too.”
Fry asked if the Commonwealth Avenue crossing was the only section of the T’railway along a main road without its own crosswalk.
Antle said he believed that is the case.
Though no vote was cast, council seemed agreeable to bringing the matter back to committee.
