Can this notorious London, Ont. intersection be made safer with a red light camera?
A new safety assessment of the Hamilton Road and Highbury Avenue intersection makes several recommendations to address the high number of collisions.
The Civic Works Committee (CWC) recently received a report that confirms the intersection is one of London, Ont.’s busiest, with an average of 58,000 vehicles, 350 pedestrians, and 16 cyclists crossing it every day during a traffic count in November 2022.
It’s not just a busy intersection, it’s also more dangerous than most.
According to collision data, it ranks 24th on a list of 360 signalized intersections in London.
The report concludes, “Low compliance with speed limits, driver behaviour, distracted driving, and the angled or skewed configuration of the intersection all contribute to the number of collisions experienced at this location.”
The city isn’t planning to rebuild the intersection until 2029, so Councillor Hadleigh McAlister pressed the CWC to support some interim measures.
“To make it a safer area for the time being, until the intersection can be redeveloped,” Councillor McAlister told CTV News.
Specifically, repainting the worn-out pavement markings and prioritizing a red light camera at the intersection.
Location of red light cameras in London, Ont. (Source: City of London)
“We’ve seen them [be effective] at other intersections like Clarke and Dundas,” he explained. “It really has helped to bring down the accidents.”
London currently operates 10 red light cameras.
However, if council prioritized installing a red light camera at the intersection ahead of other locations in the city, it could politicize a public safety decision that’s currently made based on traffic data and engineering best practices.
So, the committee unanimously recommended that the intersections be repainted this spring, and that an upcoming technical review of the red light camera program establish an “appropriate prioritization” this summer.
McAlister believes the safety assessment on Highbury and Hamilton clearly justifies that it be prioritized as part of the upcoming review.
“Other parts of the city, I recognize they have busy intersections,” he added. “But I really do think that this one, with its proximity to the highway, makes it very important.”
Council will consider the CWC recommendations at a meeting on April 4.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States.