Emergency crews clean up the scene of a two-vehicle collision near Tim Hortons in Liverpool on Friday morning. (Rick Conrad)
Emergency crews responded to two separate collisions in Liverpool on Friday.
The first occurred near the Tim Hortons shortly after 10 a.m. A Subaru Forrester and Hyundai Elantra collided as one was exiting onto Bristol Avenue and the other car was turning at the intersection.
An RCMP spokesman said nobody was injured, but both cars were towed.
The second one happened at about 11:45 a.m. at Henry Hensey Drive and Bristol Avenue. RCMP, EHS and Liverpool fire crews were on scene. Three vehicles were involved in that incident. Nobody was injured, RCMP said.
A spokeswoman said it appeared one car ran into another car, which then bumped another vehicle.
It snarled traffic for about an hour.
Traffic was snarled around lunch time on Friday on Bristol Avenue after three cars were involved in a collision at Henry Hensey Drive. (Rick Conrad)
Region of Queens councillors are looking for ways to improve safety at the intersection at Main and Market streets in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad photo)
By Rick Conrad
Councillors at the Region of Queens want something done to address pedestrian safety at the three-way stop in downtown Liverpool.
The intersection at Main and Market streets has seen its share of collisions and close calls.
On Monday, a 79-year-old woman was hit in the crosswalk and taken to South Shore Regional Hospital in Bridgewater. RCMP said her injuries were not life-threatening. A driver was charged with failing to yield to a pedestrian in a marked crosswalk.
The incident reignited concern in the community about the safety of that intersection and others in town.
At its meeting on Tuesday, council voted to have staff review previous studies and reports and come back with recommendations to make the three-way stop safer.
“I understand the frustrations,” Mayor Darlene Norman said Wednesday in an interview.
“Over my years of driving, I have been on both sides of that coin,” as a pedestrian and as a motorist.
According to minutes from a July 2019 meeting, the previous council had rejected the idea of crosswalk lights. It would have cost $27,000.
Then-CAO Chris McNeill told councillors that it was staff’s opinion that installing lights “will not improve safety or eliminate pedestrians’ inattention when crossing the intersection”.
Instead, councillors at the time decided to post a “no left turn” sign for post office parking, remove any trees or shrubbery obstructing visibility, and asking the Queens District RCMP to step up enforcement, including traffic stops during peak hours.
A 2015 study by Insight Traffic Engineering recommended changing some signage, moving the stop sign and crosswalk from the western approach on Main Street, and moving the sidewalk shrubbery and furniture.
The study concluded that existing traffic control wasn’t an issue.
Leanne Arnott, owner of nearby Five Girls Baking, said this week after the most recent incident that pedestrian-controlled lights should be installed.
“In other cities where I have lived with pedestrian-controlled crosswalks they seem to have been very effective and very useful and I think that in this situation that would be a good thing to have here.”
Arnott said she’s happy that council is going to address the issue, but that they should also involve the community in their discussions.
Norman said Wednesday that councillors have heard many ideas — from full traffic lights to having orange flags available at each corner for pedestrians to carry as they cross.
She said they will consider all options and wait for staff to come back with a report.
“Council places public safety first. I do not believe this council would ever make a decision not to do something because of the cost.”
She said she personally supports installing accessible pedestrian signals, which include lights and sound when a pedestrian chooses to cross. But it is ultimately council’s decision.
Still, Norman said, it’s the responsibility of pedestrians and motorists to be careful in all intersections.
“So while council can do everything in its power, be it installation of traffic lights, basically it boils down to pedestrians and those driving the vehicles using safety as a No. 1 factor when going through intersections.”
Norman said they’ve heard from residents about other areas in Liverpool where safety is a problem, such as the intersection at Queens Place Drive.
And in November, residents of Main and School streets submitted a petition to council, urging the region to lower speed limits in the area and to create a four-way stop at the intersection.
Councillors also asked staff to study those and other areas that need attention.
A 66-year-old Chester Grant man is in hospital after his logging truck rolled and hit a power pole in Buckfield, Queens County, on Sunday morning, RCMP said Monday.
Queens District RCMP, firefighters and EHS responded to a single-vehicle crash at 10:52 a.m. at the intersection of Highway 210 and Labelle Road. The tractor trailer was travelling westbound on Highway 210 and suffered extensive damage.
The intersection was closed for several hours and residents were without power as Nova Scotia Power crews replaced the damaged pole. Power has been restored to the area and the road is reopened.
The driver, who was the only person in the truck, had to be extracted from the truck. He was seriously injured and had to be airlifted to hospital. RCMP said in a news release Monday that his injuries are not life-threatening.
The only traffic lights in Liverpool at the intersection of Milton Rd and Hwy 3. Photo Ed Halverson
A shift in takeout coffee buying habits is snarling traffic in Liverpool.
Mayor Darlene Norman says since the McDonald’s restaurant closed for renovations consumers have moved across the street to Tim Hortons to buy their coffees causing traffic to spill out through the intersection as people wait in line for takeout.
“It creates a backlog of traffic as people try to turn in and the holding line is full, so they end up sitting out in the road rather than going in through the parking lot and parking and either waiting their turn or walking into the building,” said Norman. “It causes road rage to say the least.”
Norman says she has spoken with RCMP and learned that despite what many people assume, it is not illegal to block an intersection.
“In my discussion with Staff Sergeant Archibald he said according to the Motor Vehicle Act you cannot be ticketed if you happen to be sitting in the middle of an intersection because where you want to go is blocked.”
*That turned out to be inaccurate as drivers can be ticketed and fined for tying up the intersection under section 122 subsection 5 of the Motor Vehicle Act which clearly states:
“no driver shall enter an intersection or a marked crosswalk except to make a left or a right turn unless there is sufficient space on the other side of the intersection or crosswalk to accommodate the vehicle he is operating without obstructing the passage of other vehicles or pedestrians.”
Further clarification from Liverpool RCMP shows the confusion is the result of a sign posted near the intersection by the Region of Queens which says there is to be no stopping anytime on a green light.
The sign erected by the municipality is unenforceable under the Motor Vehicle Act.
Region of Queens council discussed whether a traffic study is needed around the lone set of traffic lights in the former town but determined it would not resolve the problem.
“The traffic lights work fine. It’s a parking lot issue. It’s a matter of how the cars stack together, how they filter in through that,” said Norman. “What small Tim Hortons built before drive-ins does not have this problem?”
Instead, the mayor will speak with the operators of Tim Hortons and the adjoining Sobeys grocery store to ask them to work out an arrangement that will allow cars to line up for the drive through in the available parking area.
As the Region works to find a solution to the traffic woes, Norman asks residents to be considerate of others.
“Come on people don’t be rude. Don’t sit there knowingly blocking an intersection where, you’re driving from Liverpool to Brooklyn you can’t get there because that whole thing is snarled up. Just please be kind, please be respectful.”
*A previous version of this report did not reference the appropriate section of the Motor Vehicle Act. The story has been updated to properly reflect the traffic laws.
