A resident near Central Collegiate wants to see better traffic calming measures at the nearby intersection because of how many vehicle collisions occur regularly.
Kelly Reynolds lives a few houses away from Oxford Street West and First Avenue Northwest and sees traffic accidents often. Because of how close she lives, she is sometimes the first on the scene to assist injured people to the sidewalk. She also brings towels to mop up blood and water to soothe the victims’ shock.
She witnessed a collision at the intersection on Sept. 10, which was the second that week.
Frustrated by the continued collisions, Reynolds emailed city manager Jim Puffalt and public works director Darrin Stephanson that same day to express her concerns. She also wanted to determine the process of having city hall analyze the intersection to determine what additional safety measures could be taken.
“I don’t feel folks heading west can see the stop sign due to tree branches unless someone is already stopped,” she said. “I’ve attached a quick (hands-free dash cam) video where you can see the stop sign is only visible (the) last few seconds. So maybe the solution is just trimming branches? I don’t think full lights warrant the cost, but maybe a warning light as installed one block to the north?
“Thanks for your time. I’m worried one day soon the folks in an accident won’t be able to just walk away.”
The dash cam video is at the bottom of this story.
In a conversation with the Moose Jaw Express on Sept. 21, Reynolds said city workers eventually came and trimmed the trees near the intersection. This made the stop sign at the corner more visible.
“I guess we’ll wait and see (if trimming the trees is effective) because that’s a horrible intersection without lights,” she said, adding the tree trunk itself is an obstacle to clear viewing.
While she didn’t hear directly from Puffalt or Stephanson, someone from city hall did call her afterward saying the trees had been trimmed and the public works department would investigate her inquiry about further traffic measures, she said.
Very few people stop at the corner of Oxford Street West and First Avenue Northwest, while many motorists “are just screaming through that intersection,” Reynolds continued. “It’s just brutal.”
An email from city hall to the Express said municipal officials received Reynold’s complaint and trimmed the problematic trees the same day. Staff with the parks and recreation department worked quickly to improve the sightlines at the corner.
“Our engineering department oversees all traffic controls, including related safety concerns, and this matter has been sent for them to review,” the email added. “We have since responded to the resident and informed (her) of the steps taken.”
Reynolds told the Express that she would contact the media again if she didn’t think the tree trimming had the effect of improving safety at the intersection.
