A controversial traffic proposal on South Hudson Street has come to a stop.
A Flin Flon city council motion to remove the four-way stop on South Hudson passed first reading earlier this month.
But at Tuesday’s council meeting, the same motion failed on second reading after a group of neighbourhood residents called for the two stop signs on South Hudson to remain as a safety measure.
“People have no regard for the speed limit,” said Chris Fisher, who lives near the intersection.
Fisher recounted how drivers have inadvertently ended up in his driveway and even struck his home in poor weather conditions.
While vehicles still end up on his property, he said they no longer get as far because of the interruption provided by the stop signs.
“With those stop signs being put there, it has at least slowed down traffic,” said Fisher.
“If you take those stop signs out, everybody is going to be a racecar driver again coming around those corners.”
Another neighbourhood resident, Cathy Daneliuk, told council it is “really dangerous” for drivers to turn onto the intersection from the Phelps Avenue hill because “you pretty much have to be out into the intersection before they can even see the front of your car.
“If there is no stop sign on South Hudson…you’re taking your life in your hands every time you’re trying to get through there, to turn left or right.”
Daneliuk added that the stop signs increase the safety of a nearby crosswalk.
Other neighbourhood residents shared their own concerns over drivers speeding on South Hudson.
One mother said it would “scare the bejesus” out of her to turn onto South Hudson while driving her children to school.
Citing input from the RCMP, Mayor Cal Huntley stressed that stop signs are not speed controls.
“They’re to direct traffic, and your general flow of traffic, your main artery of traffic, is down South Hudson,” he said.
Huntley said drivers’ constant stopping at the signs in the winter leaves the slippery road beneath “polished’ and more slippery, which is “a danger in itself.”
He agreed there are visibility concerns at the intersection but added that those concerns exist even with the four-way stop.
Huntley said traffic stats taken before and after the stop signs were installed give few indications there has been a change in reported incidents.
He added that drivers are required to follow the speed limit, adding, “If you don’t follow the rules, you get a ticket.”
Huntley could not sway Coun. Colleen McKee, who was absent for the first reading of the motion.
“I tend to agree with the (residents who want to keep the signs) because one of the things that I see as a mother is that there’s a park right (near the intersection) and when you have kids that are crossing right there, I think you do need a stop sign,” McKee said. “I think secondary to that, I also believe that we’ve created this four-way stop. I think it’s a bit asinine to change it at this point.”
McKee added that if council comes up with a better alternative, it could always be explored in the future.
When Coun. Guy Rideout moved to remove the South Hudson stop signs, while leaving the nearby Phelps Avenue stop signs in place, neither McKee nor Coun. Tim Babcock seconded the motion.
At that point the motion died, but given that three councillors – Bill Hanson, Ken Pawlachuk and Karen MacKinnon – were absent, it remains possible the motion could resurface and pass at a future meeting.
The previous council voted to install the four-way intersection in the fall of 2011. Many motorists have complained that the signs are unnecessary and cumbersome.
