Originally Posted by MonctonRad
Mountain Road rage?
Published Monday June 6th, 2011
Closure of Ryan Street for upgrades will likely make Metro Moncton's main artery even busier during rush hours
BY ALLISON TOOGOOD
TIMES & TRANSCRIPT
Trying to take a short-cut during one's commute to work is next to impossible in Moncton's North End. Whether you're coming from Evergreen, Valhalla or Hildegard, there's a good chance you'll be held up by heavy traffic, or construction crews. Congestion is nothing new for Mountain Road, especially from the Trinity area, all the way up to Evergreen, and it's growing every year, with no sign of stopping. The population is booming, bringing new businesses and infrastructure to open lots.
The Evergreen area is the fastest growing neighbourhood in Moncton. With the two new schools off of Ryan Street, the area will keep expanding with new subdivisions. Concerns are two-fold: the tearing up of Ryan, which is imperative for future traffic and buses, and the massive amount of vehicles commuting and travelling via Mountain.
Sarah Caissie lives in Hildegard and takes Ryan Street during her commute everyday.
"I like to sleep in so I take the back road to avoid the traffic that will slow me down. I can't take being in jams."
And she's not alone in her smart thinking. Caissie says many of her friends living in the North End do the same thing but once Ryan is closed off for its total overhaul, it's back to driving on Mountain.
"I think I'll have to make myself get up those 20 minutes earlier so that I'm not late in the mornings."
This kind of logic is what the police would like to see applied when commuting in the North End.
Cpl. Jay Doiron of the Codiac Regional RCMP's traffic division says residents need to factor in waiting times in heavy traffic during their commute.
"Of course an increase of traffic comes with increase of population," he said. "Everyone's in a rush so it means you have to calculate that extra time, maybe 20 minutes, in your commute."
When drivers are in a rush, they also tend to be distracted and are less cognizant of other vehicles and pedestrians.
Cpl. Doiron says people need to be patient and watch their speed while on Mountain Road.
"Driving is a privilege, not a right."
The RCMP have identified intersections with high collision rates and monitor them regularly.
The Trinity Drive and Mountain intersection is a high-traffic area where many accidents, from fender-benders to head-on collisions occur.
From 2005 to 2009, the City of Moncton recorded the reported collisions, which normally include vehicle damage of $1,000 or higher, for this intersection.
In the five years, there were about 80 collisions.
And with around 28,000 vehicles entering this intersection on Mountain, it is a normative figure. Mountain Road is considered in the same group as Main Street and Champlain Street in terms of commuting vehicles.
"It's typical versus any other community," Stephane Thibodeau, the city's transportation and parking coordinator said.
He says wherever there are intersections, there's a higher traffic volume, naturally leading to higher collision rates.
But what about the high traffic areas on Mountain that do not have intersections? Dangerous areas include the Tim Horton's on the corner of Lonsdale, and the Valhalla plaza, which houses an NB Liquor and a couple other shops. And all North End residents know that trying to turn left off of Evergreen Drive onto Mountain is near impossible in the morning and the end of the work day.
Laurie Maniex manages Moka Spa and Salon, a business in the Valhalla Plaza complex.
She says she worries for the safety of her clients, especially when they are trying to leave or enter at supper time.
Turning left out of the strip-mall's parking lot is difficult and Maniex says people drive too fast, as well.
"Even though we have a cross-walk, I still see people jaywalking and that's scary, especially at night."
While a busy road brings in good business, Maniex says it's not all positive and people need to be more cautious.
"I watch people just shoot down the road," she said. "With ice cream shops and Tim's down the road, there will be many children around this summer and it's scary."
The owner of the business beside Maniex is also concerned for his clientele.
"There's been a few accidents on the road right in front of us," says Eric Baxter of the Old Fashioned Meat Market. He isn't surprised though, with all the development in the surrounding area.
"We're really busy during end of the week and the weekend so the extra traffic is always a concern."
There's some help coming for the congestion at Evergreen Drive and Mountain. The city will begin work to implement a set of traffic lights at this area and will widen the roads to fit an extra lane. The new intersection comes just in time as the new Royal Bank of Canada is open and across from it, the development of the corner lot is about half-way complete.
Thibodeau says this is all part of the city's traffic study and the sustainable transportation master plan.
"This is in conjunction with all three greater communities and the province," he said. "It will examine how can we provide a 40-year transportation plan, which is what last plan tried to do, but became only a 20-year plan because of the unexpected closing of the CN Railway shops."
Since roadway infrastructure is very expensive, Thibodeau says that for the past two years, the city has been looking at the dynamics of mobility, the transits and pedestrian walkways. He hopes that come fall, the city will begin to work with consultants and have visioning sessions with the public.
"We want it to be very transparent and want them to be part of the review. We know people want other choices than simply getting around by vehicle so we will see what we can do to improve our way of commuting."
Joel Barnaby of Barnaby's & Co. furniture store is happy about the new intersection coming in this summer.
He says the traffic is a lot heavier than it used to be a couple years ago, and owes it to the expanding residential areas.
"This will help it be safer again, with the cross-walk that's just in front of us, but there's not much else you can do. It's the growing pains of a small city."
And one more set of lights will slow traffic down, which just might be good for business.
"They might get us more people on their way home, or those on vacation."
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