No stop signs for problem Saint John school zone

Saint John engineering staff will determine what can be done to slow down traffic past aMillidgevilleelementary school.

City staff promised to do a field study of the problemaftercomplaints from neighbours of M. Gerald Teed School.

"We have to identify what the actual problems are, whether it's a speeding issue or a volume issue," said traffic engineer TimO'Reilly.

"Then we do have solutions we can put in place."

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Residents say motorists in other parts of Millidgeville are using Daniel Avenue as a time saver to avoid stop signs on busy Woodward Avenue.

"They come over here because they have a straightaway," said Phillip Bloom who, along with his wife, Diane, had plastic lawn signs printed.

The signs urgemotorists to "Drive like your kids live here."

'If the stop sign is going to get people to slow down coming up to a crosswalk, then it's useful.'- John MacKenzie, councillor

A multi-way stop sign in front of the schoolis unlikely to be among the solutions.

"Unwarranted stop signs people don't always obey them,"O'Reillytold citycouncillorsthis week. "And if you have a pedestrian crossing the street at a location where they're expecting somebody to stop, and they don't, that creates an unsafe situation."

In fact, Saint John's official traffic-calming policy, approved by a previous city council in 2012, is unequivocal: "Multi-way stop intersections will not be considered as a solution to a vehicle traffic speed problem because of their documented ineffectiveness."

Solutions to be considered in the Daniel Avenue case could include a crosswalk with signals, a 30-kilometres speed zone, speed bumps, or both of the latter two.

City staff have already requested money under its safer school zones program for M. Gerald Teed in the 2018 budget.

Calls for radar sign

Bloom, who lives a short distance along Daniel Avenue from the school, said that in the interim the city should install a portable radar sign to showmotorists how fast they are travelling.

M. Gerald Teed principal Mike Crowley said the school would like traffic speeds reduced on the street, does not have a position on how that can be achieved.

Ward 3 Coun. John MacKenziewasdisappointed the city won't, even temporarily, install a three-way stopfacing traffic on Daniel Avenue.

"If the stop sign is going to get people to slow down coming up to a crosswalk, then it's useful," said MacKenzie. Hopefully, we'll get through the next few months without any incidents."