Drivers along 99 Street near the Westlock Rotary Spirit Centre will soon have to stop on their way to and from the facility.
At the Oct. 9 town council meeting, councillors voted to install a three-way stop sign at the intersection of 99 Street and 97 Avenue as a means of getting a handle on drivers who drive at high speeds along the road.
In addition, Coun. Clem Fagnan suggested a set of speed bumps be installed on the paved driveway through Mountie Park from the west end of 99 Street to Highway 18.
He explained the two measures would cut down on the high speeds because drivers would be loath to drive at high speeds over speed bumps.
Both the stop sign and speed bumps are to be installed on a one-year trial basis to determine if they will have the intended effect of slowing down traffic.
Councillors decided to go with the single stop sign and speed bumps instead of the proposed solution of stop signs at the 99 Avenue and 98 Avenue intersections.
That proposed solution was presented to residents in a letter town CAO Darrell Garceau sent to 99 Street residents dated Sept. 11, 2012.
The letter outlined the town’s plans for the Mountie Park area, and the town’s intention to make the entrance off Highway 18 the main entrance to the Spirit Centre.
“This will be achieved by way of signage and ease of access,” Garceau wrote in the letter.
The letter was sent out to residents in order to gauge their reaction to having multiple stop signs added to their street.
Three residents responded by email, and two by phone, Garceau said.
In terms of the emailed responses, one was in favour of the proposed stop signs, one felt the stop signs would not have the intended effect, and the third said he did not feel any stop signs are needed.
The problem of high speed traffic along 99 Street came about shortly after the town took down the gate that had stood at the west end of the street for years.
Resident Alan Watt had written to mayor Bruce Lennon over the summer expressing his concern that he and his neighbours had not been made aware of the change until it happened. At the time, he also explained the gate’s origin.
“The gate was originally put there at the request of residents on the street to deal with the high speed traffic that this drag strip seems to encourage,” he wrote in his letter.
