As the volume of traffic continues to increase along Main Avenue, the Bergen Road intersection on the east side of the Red Deer River Bridge is becoming a serious safety concern, a former Sundre councillor recently said.
Myron Thompson told his colleagues during the regular Sept. 25 council meeting that the effort to track the number of vehicles driving past the Visitor Information Centre earlier that day from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. had indicated a substantial increase since last year when a similar count was done.
"Here's what was happening. Big rigs, trailers, etcetera: 502 vehicles. Cars, vans and SUVs: 1,528. Trucks, half-ton, three-quarter ton, one-ton cube vans, etcetera: 1,434. That's about 1,000 to 1,200 more vehicles as the same period last year. There's noticeably a difference when you sit on that deck as many hours as I have," he said, adding the lineup of traffic attempting to turn onto Main Avenue from the Bergen Road can get pretty long.
As a result, some motorists are taking chances by attempting to pull out in front of oncoming vehicles on Main Avenue in a bid to find an opening, he said, adding the time has come to consider installing traffic lights at that intersection.
That will mean applying pressure on Alberta Transportation by informing the provincial department in charge of highways that the situation on Main Avenue, also Highway 27, is becoming more and more dangerous "simply because of the increase of traffic."
The close proximity of the pedestrian crossing at that intersection is also contributing to a potential recipe for disaster, he said.
"It makes it doubly dangerous. A lot of people fly around that corner and all of a sudden there's a pedestrian light and they don't even know is there. We have witnessed many gravel trucks, which are probably the most guilty of running that orange light, going at a speed that (does not enable them to stop in time)."
Additionally, the lane lines are barely visible and should be repainted, he said.
"They are not doing a very good job of looking after their property the way they should, and I think it deserves a scolding and we should let them know about it."
His fellow members of council concurred, and administration was directed to contact Alberta Transportation to determine whether the provincial highways department has future plans to upgrade that intersection.
