The Sept. 3 borough council meeting took place at back to school time and, as usual, there were questions from residents about pedestrian crossings at streetlights and dangerous intersections, a welcome distraction from the Quebec government’s charter of values proposal that has dominated the headlines for weeks.
Senior citizens are having problems crossing large and busy intersections on major arteries in the borough. Côte-des-Neiges residents show up fairly regularly at council meetings, requesting more time to walk across the wide commercial artery.
In NDG, there are some problematic spots at Sherbrooke/Cavendish and at Côte-St-Luc/Cavendish, said Rita Del Grande while pleading for lengthening the time allowed for crossing at traffic lights. “Believe me, I can fly with my walker, but I can barely get halfway across before the hand goes up. For my safety – so I’m not stuck in the middle of the street – I have to run the last bit.”
The situation got worse for the week when buses were still running on summer schedules but students were back to school. “It was really pretty bad,” she said.
In Snowdon, Brana Bienstock-Smith experiences the same problem “almost every day a few times a day,” either walking or driving on residential streets. On Mountain Sights, there are no road markings and no stop signs for cars or pedestrians at the Lacombe intersection. At Mountain Sights/Isabella, there are no road markings and no stop signs in all directions at this wide residential intersection not far from Décarie. “Sometimes it’s murder,” said the senior citizen. Perhaps these intersections need stop signs, or at the very least just a look by the supervisor.
“It may not be soon, but a study will be done on what you’ve asked for,” promised Marvin Rotrand.
On Cavendish, it’s not just a matter of synchronization, but also of updating the new signs, said Lionel Perez. The commission on transport already held a public consultation.
This year, the City made improvements to many intersections, added borough director Stéphane Plante, “some on Victoria, others on Van Horne, two on Girouard, at Côte-Saint-Antoine and at Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, one at Sherbrooke/Cavendish and one on Côte-Saint-Luc. He promised further improvements for 2014.
