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
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Fewer medical students going into family medicine contributing to doctor shortage
As some family doctors are retiring and others are moving away from family medicine, there are fewer medical students to take their place.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Competition bureau finds 'substantial' anti-competitive effects with proposed Bunge-Viterra merger
The proposed merger of agricultural giants Viterra and Bunge is raising competition concerns from the federal government.
Douglas DC-4 plane with 2 people on board crashes into river outside Fairbanks, Alaska
A Douglas C-54 Skymaster airplane crashed into the Tanana River near Fairbanks on Tuesday, Alaska State Troopers said.