Puslinch council has rejected for now the idea of closing the intersection of Highway 6 and Concession 1 but has agreed to make the intersection of Victoria and Leslie Roads a four-way stop.
On March 2, council discussed the two intersections, as well as proposed solutions from councillor Jerry Schmidt on the former and two residents regarding the latter.
Schmidt requested council pass a motion to close the intersection at Concession 1 and Highway 6 south of Morriston – as previously discussed and brought up during all candidate debates last year – due to safety concerns.
Citing safety concerns, he said the township could try the closure for a year, including work on Concession 1 so road maintenance trucks could turn around at the end of that road.
The intersection can be very busy and left hand turns can be extremely difficult at certain times of the day, but councillor Susan Fielding said while the intersection may appear unsafe, the statistics show otherwise, with only two accidents there since 2006.
She noted the closure, which would require an application to the Ministry of Transportation, should be based on facts, otherwise the township could be setting a precedent.
“How do we say no to somebody if we don’t base it on facts?” she asked, adding the township could also get a report from the OPP.
Councillors Ken Roth and Wayne Stokley agreed with Fielding, as did Public Works Superintendent Jim Howlett.
“The stats aren’t there to bear it out,” Howlett said of closing the intersection. “To me, it doesn’t warrant closing.”
Mayor Dennis Lever expressed concern about the township doing nothing and then having a serious accident occur there.
He explained there is a new engineering report that can predict how dangerous a road is, which he heard about at a seminar at the recent Rural Ontario Municipal Association conference in Toronto.
He wondered how much such a report would cost and who could provide it, but regardless, councillors agreed more information is needed and they voted unanimously to defeat a resolution to close the intersection of Concession 1 and Highway 6.
When it came to the Victoria-Leslie intersection, councillors had a different opinion.
Fielding said given that there have been 11 accidents there since 2006, including one fatality, she would support a four-way stop.
Stokley agreed, saying the money spent to install the extra signs would be insignificant compared to the number of lives that could be saved.
Resident Sarah Bond wrote to council late last month asking for safety improvements at Leslie and Victoria, where 76-year-old Marie Elsie Cremasco, of Guelph, was killed in an accident last fall.
Bond specifically asked for a four-way stop, but also mentioned rumble strips and increased police radar – “but please no more accidents,” she said.
Resident Allessa Fisher, who lives at that corner, also wrote council last year suggesting a four-way stop.
Last week Schmidt supported the idea, but Roth wondered if that approach would cause even more problems and he instead suggested installing rumble strips.
“I don’t think we can legislate common sense and good driving no matter what we do,” Roth said.
Howlett said installing signs to make for a four-way stop would cost just $1,500 but it may lead to requests in other areas.
Yet due to the accident history at the intersection he concluded, “Maybe a four-way stop is a good way to go.”
Council unanimously approved a resolution to that effect, and Howlett noted the extra signs would be erected as soon as the ground thaws enough for them to be properly installed.
