Crossing from Creekside

Safety of pedestrians should be priority
Letter to the Editor, Dundas Star News Published on Dec 11, 2009

Creekside Drive in downtown Dundas is on a construction site bounded by Hatt Street and Ogilvie Street.

It is “home” to many seniors living in Amica and the three completed condo buildings, each with 62 units.

A fourth block with 62 units is close to completion, and it seems that another similar block may be constructed. Some seniors have difficulty walking and many use sticks and walkers. At the present time, there is no pedestrian crosswalk at either end of Creekside Drive. Although both Ogilvie and Hatt Streets are very busy roads, crossing Ogilvie is particularly hazardous. The common wisdom is that it is the site of an accident waiting to happen.

We do have traffic lights at the corner of Ogilvie and Hatt and also at the corner of Ogilvie and Governor’s Road. I understand the city expects pedestrians to cross the road at those points.

However, this is not a realistic solution to the safety problem.

There is currently no continuous proper sidewalk on the west side of Ogilvie between Creekside Drive and the traffic lights at Governor’s Road.

In the winter, the sidewalks on each side of the road are often hazardous, due to the significant build-ups of ice and snow.

Walking via the traffic lights would involve approximately 300 steps as compared with approximately 15 steps to cross Ogilvie directly.

On balance — and particularly in the winter — I think seniors would be in more danger if they used the longer routes expected by the city.

I understand the city’s concern about increasing the “hardware” on Ogilvie Street. However, in this particular situation, with such a high proportion of seniors, I do believe the safety of pedestrians crossing the road should be the city’s first priority.

I therefore urge the city to approve the installation of a pedestrian crosswalk at each end of Creekside Drive.

Averil Thompson, Dundas