Skip to content

Engineer to address intersection concerns

The Town of Black Diamond is counting on the expertise of an engineer to come up with potential changes to an intersection causing concerns among motorists and pedestrians. Town council agreed at its Nov.
A retaining wall at the intersection of Highway 7 and 3rd Street SE are among the safety issues Black Diamond Town council wants addressed by an engineer.
A retaining wall at the intersection of Highway 7 and 3rd Street SE are among the safety issues Black Diamond Town council wants addressed by an engineer.

The Town of Black Diamond is counting on the expertise of an engineer to come up with potential changes to an intersection causing concerns among motorists and pedestrians.

Town council agreed at its Nov. 16 meeting to use up to $10,000 from the general engineering budget to hire a traffic engineer to explore potential improvements to the intersection of 3rd Street SE and Highway 7.

A turning lane was added in the eastbound lane of Highway 7 at that intersection last summer to direct traffic north onto 3rd Street NE towards Tim Hortons while moving eastbound traffic to the right, closer to a retaining wall just west of 3rd Street. The changes have reduced visibility for motorists entering the highway from that street.

Council discussed numerous issues that have resulted from that change the past several weeks with concerned residents and Alberta Transportation, and are bringing in the engineer to determine the best way to address them.

Coun. Ruth Griffith said the issues go beyond reduced visibility for traffic entering the highway.

“As you’re going up the hill you don’t realize which lane you are in until you are actually in that lane,” she told council last week. “I’m surprised they didn’t put those arrows further back so it gives people more time to determine if you’re turning north or going straight.”

Coun. Judy Thomson is concerned about the crosswalk, telling council that it’s difficult to see. The Town recently installed rapid-flashing solar lights at either end of the crosswalk using Municipal Sustainability Initiative funding.

“I don’t know why they don’t have some painted slanted yellow lines in the crosswalk,” she said. “I don’t understand why that is such a bland, dull crosswalk there. You don’t see it until you are on top of it.”

Mayor Glen Fagan said he’s also concerned about the crosswalk, particularly accessibility for pedestrians with mobility challenges.

“I saw two wheelchair bound people who had to go down the street to get to the point of entrance to get on the sidewalk,” he said.

Coun. Jackie Stickel said there are many issues to address at that intersection, including the retaining wall that makes it difficult for vehicles accessing the highway from 3rd Street SE to see vehicles traveling east on the highway.

Motorists accessing the highway from 3rd Street SE have to inch their vehicles onto the highway to determine if it’s safe to proceed.

The Town, council and Alberta Transportation have been discussing options for 3rd Street SE such as making it a one-way street and closing access to the highway. Long-term plans show that traffic lights will be installed at that intersection in about 10 years, correlating with future development in the area.

“When you’re making this decision, part of the thing you want to think about is the impact of the Kaiser Area Structure (Plan) and impacts onto that road,” said Sharlene Brown, chief administrative officer. “As well, the transportation study did say within a 10 year time frame that lights will be needed. Having signalization on a one-way, does that make sense?”

If an engineer is going to take the time to study the traffic issues at that intersection, coun. Mike Ross said he wants every aspect to be looked at to ensure it’s done correctly.

“If we could get (the engineer) to include what it would cost to take out the retaining wall, let’s spend the money we have on hand for what we need so we can get out of this fur ball for a while,” he said. “We’ve got to do something. We can’t just let it ride.”

push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks