- Target:
- CITY OF ABBOTSFORD Traffic Safety Advisory Committee
- Region:
- Canada
As an Executive member of the Abbotsford Middle School PAC and a mother I would like to bring forward this petition for a safer Bevan Avenue/ Ware Street Intersection. Our concerns are that our children and other pedestrians are not being seen in the intersection, and drivers feel rushed to make left hand turns putting both groups at risk.
January 4, 2012’s horrific accident involving an Abbotsford Middle School student who was struck by a garbage truck negotiating a left-hand turn through the pedestrian crosswalk must never be allowed to happen again. The lives of the grade six student, the garbage truck driver and their families have been changed forever. As a community we must ensure that such an accident does not happen again.
There have been numerous vehicle incidents including near hits and misses at this particular intersection on a daily basis. This will not change as the large number of students from Abbotsford Middle School, Abbotsford Collegiate Secondary and Godson Elementary using the Bevan Avenue / Ware Street intersection increases as our community grows. The close proximity to Mill Lake Park adds additional pedestrian traffic that impact traffic in the immediate area of the intersection.
The number of new and training drivers from Abbotsford Collegiate Secondary will also increase risk in this area, as the new entrance to the school will be located on Bevan Avenue.
We petition the City of Abbotsford to implement one of the following two options:
Option 1: Installation of a Scramble Intersection
A Scramble Intersection is a pedestrian crossing system that stops vehicular traffic from all directions for a specific period of time allowing pedestrians to cross the intersection in every direction (north, south, east, west and diagonally), at the same time.
The “Scramble Intersection” process has been installed by the City of Richmond at No #1 Road and Moncton Street. It has been working well in Richmond; therefore, we support this option to ensure the safety of our children and other pedestrian traffic in the area surrounding this specific intersection.
Option 2: Installation of the following three items:
a. Controlled left turn signals
b. A light guard system for the crosswalk
c. Leading Pedestrian intervals (LPI)
Controlled left-turn signals ensure that drivers have a dedicated time in which to negotiate their turn so they would not feel rushed to turn in between waves of students using the intersection and students have a clearer understanding of when they can use the intersection and the time remaining before traffic begins to move again. A light guard system for the crosswalk ensures that children/pedestrians will be seen when approaching and while in the crosswalk.
We feel that all three segments of option 2 are necessary to ensure the maximum pedestrian safety in this option.
Please help us implement a safer intersection for our children.
If you are reluctant to provide your information online please sign the petition at the Abbotsford Middle School Office.
You can further help this campaign by sponsoring it
The Petition for a Safer Bevan Avenue / Ware Street Intersection petition to CITY OF ABBOTSFORD Traffic Safety Advisory Committee was written by Lisa Medynski and is in the category Roads & Transport at GoPetition.