St. Clair Township council has agreed to consider installing full traffic lights at a busy Corunna intersection, rather than a pedestrian crossing.
Aileen Hamill, who lives on Nash Court, told council there are many safety concerns at the intersection of Hill Street, Queen Street and Nash Drive.
"With the exponential growth that has happened in Corunna, and the additional future planned growth, I'm sure you will agree that the safety of all residents needs to be paramount," said Hamill.
Hamill said the 50 km/h speed limit is often ignored by motorists and with additional housing planned, the situation won't get better.
"The first phase of the Queen Street extension is well underway, bringing 110 new homes, along with 36 units on Queen Street in the development beside CAP [Corunna Athletic Park]. This means that there could be an additional traffic amount of anywhere between 100 to 290 plus cars utilizing this intersection on a regular basis."
Hamill asked council to install the pedestrian crossing, already ordered for the intersection, elsewhere.
"Recently, the new skateboard park has brought more pedestrian traffic to this intersection with many children having to cross four lanes of Hill Street to access the park," she said. "We can not rely on the hope that drivers will be paying attention and stop accordingly with flashing lights at a pedestrian crossover."
Hamill believes motorists will respond to full traffic lights more and adjust their driving accordingly.
She questioned the results of a traffic study done in April, 2021, that determined full traffic lights weren't warranted and said many people were still working from home and additional homes were still being built in the area.
"While there is a crossing guard at the location of Nash and Hill Street, I have been told that the intention is to no longer have her there when the pedestrian crossing is put in," Hamill added. "In my opinion, no matter what option is installed, I do feel this very busy intersection will still require a crossing guard to ensure that children are able to safely cross back and forth from school."
Councillor Pat Brown agreed that full traffic lights are needed at the intersection.
"I believe that the intended installation of the pedestrian crossing is not forward thinking with all of the new growth in the area," Brown said.
Council will consider the request in its 2023 capital budget deliberations on January 19.
Township council will consider its full 2023 operating budget for approval on March 9.