The Need for Traffic Signals at Victoria and Paulander

[jamesbow]

Traffic Signals at Victoria & Paulander

For your interest, this is an e-mail I've sent to Carl Zehr, Ken Seiling and the relevant councillors:

I am writing to ask that traffic signals be installed at the intersection of Victoria Street South and Paulander Drive near Victoria Hills.

A few years ago, I wrote to Kitchener City Council and the Region of Waterloo's council on this same subject and was told that no such installation was needed, since pedestrians could cross at signalled intersections at Westmount and at Lawrence. While these options are available, I fear that this decision imperils the safety of pedestrians, transit users and car drivers.

While driving, I've noticed a number of close calls for individuals driving out of Paulander Drive and turning left onto Victoria Street. Immediately north of the intersection, Victoria Street crests a small hill, hiding oncoming vehicles from sight. Drivers turning left onto Victoria run the risk of being broadsided if they start a turn and encounter a car coming over the hill at speed. This is especially a problem during wintertime when mounds of snow left at the curb of Victoria Street further block visibility.

Further, the lights at Westmount and Lawrence are often ill-timed, so that someone waiting for northbound traffic to clear before they turn left will often encounter southbound traffic cresting the hill just as the opportunity to turn presents itself.

As a pedestrian and a transit user, I have found that there is considerable temptation to cross Victoria Street at this intersection even though no signals exist. Grand River Transit has bus stops on both sides of Victoria at this intersection, and during peak periods especially, as many as a half-dozen people departing a southbound bus cross into traffic in order to take the shortest route to Paulander Drive.

I believe that in the interests of pedestrian and automobile safety, either the City of Kitchener or the Region of Waterloo should install traffic lights at Paulander and Victoria as soon as possible.

Thank you for your attention on this matter.

Yours sincerely,
James Bow

[Osiris]

I'm moving from Paulander next month...I definitely won't be missing that turn.

It was particularly horrid this past winter when the plows had the snow piled nice and high on the corners - I actually had learned to time it with the traffic lights at Westmount/Victoria (which I can see clearly) to know when to go.

The fiancee never enjoyed crossing there after getting off the bus either, although that was a bit more manageable as she could walk up the street to where she had a clear view in both directions...

Hopefully your letter leads to some sort of result. Last summer would have been especially ideal as they had the road all torn up for the pipe replacements...

[metropolis]

Why don't people driving who have an issue here just take the left on Lawrence and then left onto Victoria from there, where there is a light? For pedestrians I can see the need for perhaps an island to cross at but if they put one here and not at the Iron Horse trail up the road where I imagine pedestrian traffic dwarves anything emerging out of Paulander we have an issue.

[jamesbow]

Why don't people driving who have an issue here just take the left on Lawrence and then left onto Victoria from there, where there is a light? For pedestrians I can see the need for perhaps an island to cross at but if they put one here and not at the Iron Horse trail up the road where I imagine pedestrian traffic dwarves anything emerging out of Paulander we have an issue.

There are a couple of differences between the Paulander/Victoria intersection and the Iron Horse Trail crossing. The big one is that at the Iron Horse Trail, Victoria Street is just two lanes wide. At Paulander, the street is four lanes, and the traffic is a bit faster, in my opinion. At the Iron Horse, the crossing is in a small valley, where you're able to see cars coming for some distance. At Paulander, the hill crest is a bit further north of the intersection, making visibility more of an issue for pedestrians and drivers alike.

A crossing island at Paulander would be a decent alternative for pedestrians, and you are right to point out that one can head away from Victoria on Paulander and use Lawrence instead. This does take drivers a bit out of their way if they're heading southbound on Victoria (thus, turning left), but I have found that driving via Paulander, Lawrence and Highland doesn't take all that much more time if you're heading to points southeast from the Highland/Westmount intersection. If you're heading southwest from the Victoria/Westmount intersection, however, this arrangement does add time and distance to your trip.

This alternative also doesn't help those who have gone with their instincts and have headed towards Victoria instead of away from it, and the visibility issue encourages drivers to pull out onto Victoria Street, possibly into the path of oncoming traffic cresting the hill. A traffic signal, in my opinion, would prevent accidents by forcing drivers turning left to wait their turn.

Another alternative, I guess, could be to lower the hill. Even a couple of feet would help.