Saturday, February 18, 2012

An accident waiting to happen

The disorganized chaos at Beta Ave and Brentlawn Drive has been allowed to continue for years with no initiative being taken to improve safety at the intersection.  The following are factors that contribute to this intersection being an accident waiting to happen.

1) Abnormally aligned intersection. Because Brentlawn Drive changes direction (bends) at Beta, the visibility for drivers trying to cross Brentlawn is very limited as cars coming along Brentlawn are extremely difficult to see until the last moment only after pulling past the stop sign into the middle of the intersection to cross or make a turn.  Likewise, the visibility of cars pulling out from Beta Ave is limited for drivers coming along Brentlawn due to the bend in the street.

2) Brentlawn Dr is a local collector street.  The fact that many drivers use this street to cut through the neighbourhood at unhindered speeds makes this intersection dangerous to cross.  Vehicles approach this intersection at fast speeds and are not required to yield as no stop signs are in place for drivers on Brentlawn Dr.

3) Setback for stop signs on Beta are too great.  When drivers are stopped as per stop sign regulations, they are unable to see if it is clear to cross Brentlawn.  Although a setback is normally good, it is dangerous in this intersection because of the odd shape of this crossing.

4) Speed limit has never been enforced here.  I have never seen a car being pulled over for speeding even though drivers speed through here all day and night (cars are speeding by as I type this).

A major solution to ease the chaos here would be to install a 4-way stop with clearly marked pedestrian crossings between each corner.  The requirement of cars on Brentlawn to stop at Beta will prevent some of the situations seen in the video below.  This video shows some of the incidents that occurred within a 7-hour period during the day and does not show any of the pedestrian difficulties captured on camera.  The kind of stuff in this video happens all day, everyday at Brentlawn and Beta.




4 comments:

  1. I agree. I have long thought there should be a four-way stop here, or at least short no parking zones on the south arm of Brentlawn to create some visibility for cars on Beta. Right now, visibility is effectively nil until one is actually in the intersection.

    I live in Southlawn by the way, and was very happy to discover your blog last month.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for the comment and kind words. An effort is currently under way by residents of Brentlawn to meet and collectively bring concerns to the City in the near future.

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    2. If another signature or letter would help, let me know.

      Also, when I typed "south" above I meant "west".

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    3. Thank you Geof. I'll contact you through your site. I have just begun enjoying the works in your blog. Very nice!

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