Athabasca town council discussed the notorious intersection at Highway 55 and 34th Street at length at its regular meeting last Tuesday.
Due to the severity of collisions this year at the intersection at the top of the east hill — the most recent of which sent a four-year-old to hospital — councillors were concerned.
Councillor George Hawryluk said the intersection is potentially "a fatality waiting to happen."
"The intersection of Highway 55 and 34th Street needs to be addressed now," said Hawryluk.
Hawryluk alleged, with no dispute from council, "The provincial government and the department in charge of Highway 55 have done nothing to rectify the situation."
He said enough is enough and there need be no more studies from Alberta Transportation only to conclude that no immediate action is required.
Hawryluk cited increasing traffic in the area, population growth and "natural lack of patience of those waiting to cross and/or enter the highway from 34th Street" as precipitators of the intersection's dangers.
He said no one seems to want to address the problem and pointed the finger, in part, at former developers of the Cornwall district who failed to anticipate future population growth and the greater use of the intersection.
"Poor vision for the future, to say the least, has left a void which needs to be addressed immediately by the current council before we start calling the intersection of Highway 55 and 34th Street a fatality waiting to happen," said Hawryluk.
Hawryluk urged council and the citizens of Athabasca to lobby the provincial government to find a permanent solution to the dangerous intersection.
Hawryluk called the document he had in his possession from Alberta Transportation "a bunch of numbers and a bunch of talk."
Entitled "Operation Review and Recommendation for Highway 55 at 34th Street Athabasca, Alberta" and generated by Great Northern Engineering Consultants in January, 2013, the document concluded with only eight words under the recommendation section, said Hawryluk: "No changes to the intersection at this time."
Hawryluk said he requested data on the number of collisions at the intersection over the past five years from Athabasca RCMP Sgt. Brian Scott. Hawryluk said the sergeant was unable to retrieve the information but that he will keep digging.
On Aug. 28, the day after a two-vehicle collision at the intersection sent a four-year-old to hospital, Athabasca RCMP handed out 14 charges and two warnings in relation to traffic violations at the intersection, most of which Scott said related to drivers failing to stop at the intersection.
Morrill said he has "some concerns about this situation" at the intersection, even though it has been studied numerous times by Alberta Transportation, which has found it the intersection is "not failing," although the government concedes "slight sight deficiencies for larger vehicles."
Morrill said a pedestrian crossing might be an excellent idea, but Alberta Transportation said it would not be possible due to the same "slight sight deficiency."
The traffic volume does not warrant traffic signals either, said Morrill.
Councillor Hawryluk suggested making 34th Street a one-way street, but Morrill said it could be expensive and problematic.
"Does that not take more traffic past the school and our hospital? And I would question how our emergency responders think about that that," said Morrill, concerned about "congestion of diversion" in emergency situations.
Morrill said Alberta Transportation reported the intersection is not on the safety challenge list.
He also suggested the prospect of making 34th Street a "right-in-right-out.”
There is no simple solution as of yet, according to councillor Colleen Powell.
“We’ve looked at this over the years. We knew that this was going to be, and is becoming, a contentious intersection — one that’s dangerous. I don’t think a one-way street is a solution,” said Powell.
“Probably half our population live in Cornwall, so they want to go to the health unit. You’ve got an immediate problem there,” she said, pointing to a previous suggestion that left-hand turns be banned and lights be installed at the Canadian Tire.
Powell said both sides of the road should be examined for safety as traffic is expected to increase from Wood Heights as time goes on.
“We need to have a solution that is going to work now and into the future, and I don’t think we can come up with a simple solution tonight,” she said, expressing her hope that the next council will prioritize this issue over “the next couple of years.”
A motion was defeated that "council find a better solution to the traffic problem at 34th Street and Highway 55." Another motion was defeated to make 34th Street a one-way.
Alberta Transportation is scheduled to attend the next council meeting on Sept. 17 as a delegation to give an update on projects in the area, and will address council's concerns at that time.
On Dec. 18 of last year, around, two Ford F-150 pickup trucks collided at the intersection of Highway 55 and 34th Street at the Super 8 Motel, sending the driver of one truck to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The circumstances were similar to the Aug. 27 accident. In both cases, a vehicle turning left out of 34th Street collided with a vehicle heading east out of town on Highway 55.
At the time of the Dec. 18 collision, Athabasca Fire Department Chief Denis Mathieu said there was no indication speed or loss of control was a factor in the accident, but that the driver of one truck may simply have misjudged the turn and didn’t see the other vehicle approaching.
Speed and alcohol were not a factor in the Aug. 27 collision, though charges have been laid.
