By Roger Knox - Vernon Morning Star Published: July 15, 2008 7:00 PM
Vernon council has put a halt on a proposed four-way stop at the intersection of 20th Street and 43rd Avenue, site of a fatal accident in April. Council voted unanimously in June to install a four-way stop at the intersection where Vernon Taxi driver Howard Collins was killed at 3 a.m. on April 20 after his cab was t-boned by an alleged drunk driver. This was after they had received a 600-name petition from citizens calling for the four-way stop, and after council had originally passed a motion in May calling for $70,000 to be spent on wider lanes and a pedestrian-operated flashing light at the intersection following a staff report that suggested the four-way stop was unwarranted. City of Vernon transportation specialist Lorne Holowachuk reiterated his opposition to the four-way stop at Monday’s regular council meeting. “The petition was asking in excess of what’s a practical response,” said Holowachuk. “I would suggest a four-way stop is not a good response. There was a fatal accident there, yes, but it was a random incident. It could have happened anywhere. It happened at 2 a.m. We should not over-react. Staff came up with a reasonable moderate cost plan that is the best treatment for all. “We want something that’s safe for vehicles and pedestrians, and that’s why we recommend the flashing light. We’re not dealing with a lot of traffic. We’re dealing with an error in judgement by one driver. “It’s safer to go with the flasher.”
In a memo to council, Holowachuk stated his belief that a four-way stop at the intersection would be “disrespected by 43rd Avenue motorists; that it would attract more traffic along 20th Street from Pleasant Valley Road to 48th Avenue, where sidewalks and road improvements are incomplete; and will result in parking conflicts along 20th Street from Pleasant Valley Road to 48th Avenue, which may require parking prohibition.” By a vote of 4-2, with Couns. Pat Cochrane and Barry Beardsell opposed, council put their gear in reverse and adopted the motion they originally passed in May. “My concern is when staff strongly recommends against the changes we wanted because of safety for pedestrians, to me that would be a real tragedy if we lost a young person because we made changes reacting to an emotional situation,” said Coun. Juliette Cunningham. “Until 20th Street has been redesigned to be able to withstand greater traffic, I don’t think it’s wise for us to do this at this time.”
Beardsell, who brought up the petition in June which resulted in council approving the four-way stop, doesn’t know if one can ever be sure they’re doing the right thing in a situation like this. “I just felt putting the four-way stop in as a trial, to see how it would work which is sort of what the petition was calling for, was a good starting point,” said Beardsell. City staff said they would continue to monitor pedestrian and vehicular operations over the next year.
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Editorial Morning Star June 15 Four-way flip-flop must stop
Is it three times lucky for Vernon council when it comes to the controversial 43rd Avenue at 20th Street intersection? Council voted a third time on the matter Monday, adopting – for a second time – a recommendation by city staff not to install a four-way stop at the intersection, but rather widen the lanes and install a pedestrian flasher light. This was staff's original recommendation when the subject came up in May following the tragic death of a Vernon cab driver, whose taxi was t-boned by an alleged drunk driver in the early hours of April 20. It's alleged the driver ran the stop sign at 20th. After the original recommendation was passed by council, a 600-name petition was submitted by residents calling for a four-way stop. Council revisited the motion and decided to add a four-way stop. Following a presentation by the city's transportation specialist, who re-iterated that a four-way stop is not warranted there, councillors reverted back to passing the original motion. While it's commendable that council would listen to the citizens, re, the petition, in this case we believe it was an over-reaction, and council should have listened to city staff. There's a reason why staff are hired by the city for things such as traffic control. They have more experience than city councillors and most citizens in such areas, can do research into such matters as part of their job and pass along their findings to council. From the get-go, staff said a four-way stop could cause more accidents and result in more traffic on 20th Street. There's no doubt the accident was tragic in so many ways, but it should be recognized that the accident could have happened at any intersection that night.
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