City council funds study on dangerous intersections

By Torcia Velthuizen

 

City council has approved spending $20,000 for an independent study of four intersections deemed the most dangerous for cyclists.

The four intersections have been identified in a report released by the City of Windsor based on collision reports over the last five years, the most dangerous being the intersection at Lauzon Parkway and Tecumseh Road East. Council has approved a recommendation for an audit of the areas.

Lori Newton, executive director at Bike Windsor Essex, spoke to city council Nov. 7.  She said only 30 per cent of cycling accidents are reported, meaning the number of accidents in Windsor in the past three years is closer to 15,000.

Newton suggested a pilot project involving painting the roads, using research already done on intersections in other municipalities. Councillor Hilary Payne disagreed with the suggestion.

“Intersections there will have different characteristics. I just don’t see how you can take conclusions from some other municipality and apply them to an intersection here in Windsor,” said Payne, adding that it is an engineering issue.

Newton said in a statement to council that while she appreciated the city’s effort to fund a study, she was concerned there were not any implementation dollars allocated to the project.

“The recommendation is to spend $20,000 to hire an engineering consultant to make the audits. Once we have that data, then council will be in a position to start funding the recommendations that come from those reports,” said Mayor Drew Dilkins in response to Newton’s concerns.

The studies are expected to be completed by late summer.