Poll drivers on intersection lights, councillor urges

While the $1.8-million proposal to reconstruct Industrial Road is dead, the possibility of installing a regular traffic light at the four-way stop signs at Quartz Road is still on the table for discussion.

While the $1.8-million proposal to reconstruct Industrial Road is dead, the possibility of installing a regular traffic light at the four-way stop signs at Quartz Road is still on the table for discussion.

City administration had identified the Industrial Road improvement as a priority for the upcoming construction season.

That was conditional on the 15 affected property owners agreeing to pay $608,980 through regular local improvement charges over the standard 15 years.

Projects involving local improvement charges can only proceed if more than half of the property owners agree.

After hearing a majority of property owners did not support the proposal, council brought the local improvement bylaw forward to officially defeat it at second reading during its regular meeting Monday night.

It cannot be brought back before council now for at least another year, according to bylaw procedures.

“Primarily, the reasons were financial,“ Coun. Dave Austin, vice-chair of the city’s operations committee, told council while reading from a prepared administrative report.

“The committee questioned the public’s support for traffic lights at Industrial and Quartz, especially as a stand-alone project,“ Austin continued.

“It was suggested that there should be some kind of poll conducted in the area to determine the level of support prior to proceeding with the replacement of the four-way stop.“

The $200,000-traffic lights were never part of the local improvement charges, though administration recommended it was logical to install them while the roadway was under construction.

Austin said he recognized the city fire department’s concern that the four-way stop can cause a bottle-neck for emergency services, but on the whole, agreed with Coun. Florence Robert’s suggestion that the stop signs are sufficient for now.

Roberts said constituents who’ve contact her pointed out there is no danger of accidents at the intersection, and that, for the most part, traffic flow through the area is manageable.

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,“ she told her council colleagues.

Coun. Jan Stick, on the other hand, said residents she’s heard from want the traffic lights to go in.

Clive Sparks, the city’s director of operations, told council the most recent survey of Whitehorse residents taken in 2006 indicates a growing desire for the traffic lights.

The survey results showed 25 per cent of respondents supported the lights, up from just six or seven per cent from the 2004 survey, Sparks pointed out.

Coun. Dave Stockdale recommended that before any decision is made regarding the lights, city hall should advertise and conduct a specific poll, and not just for businesses in the area.

Traffic control at the intersection, he said, affects a large portion of the community.

There was no official decision last night regarding how to proceed with the traffic lights.

Just as administration had recommended the installation of the lights during construction, there was a $250,000 proposal to install a new underground watermain running from the Two Mile Hill pump station to the four-way stop-signed intersection.

Installing the new watermain, which would not have been part of the local improvement charge, was also logical while the road was dug up, and would be needed eventually to meet the rising demand by an expanding Marwell industrial area.