City of St. John's untangles Cecil Haire's top 10 terrible #traffictangles
A few weeks ago, St. John's Morning Show's traffic guy Cecil Haire asked St. John's citizens to tweet their top ten terrible #traffictangles.
You tweeted with enthusiasm, sending Haire and Terry Dunne, a Young Drivers of Canada instructor, on quite the tour around town, visiting the places that ticked drivers off. You can retake the original tour with Dunne in our video.
Haire later interviewed St. John's Coun. Art Puddister about the city's response to our #traffictangles soon afterwards. Puddister referenced a set of notes from City officials, which we wanted them to complete so we could post how they plan to make driving a little less frustrating.
Here's what we got back. Haire's original #traffictangles comments are in italics.
1) Strawberry Marsh Road at Allandale Road
Heavy congestion and left-hand turn clogs traffic.
The City of St. John's Traffic Division will review the traffic signal timings to see if more time can be allocated to the northbound left turn movement from Allandale Road onto Prince Philip Drive which is causing the back-ups at Strawberry Marsh Road. Staff must ensure that giving extra time to the left turn doesn't cause congestion for other drivers at this intersection.
2) Kenmount Road and Polina
Cecil Haire laughs loudly. Very dangerous left-hand turn, he says, on four lane roadway near Avalon Mall.
The City and the Avalon Mall are working together on plans to line up the mall access with Polina Road and move the traffic signal to this new intersection.
3) Outer Ring Road off-ramp at Allandale Road
Drivers stopping at a dedicated lane sign, causing traffic to back up onto the Outer Ring Road.
The City Traffic Division will investigate to see if any improvements can be achieved through enhanced pavement markings and/or delineation and additional signage to improve the flow of traffic from the Outer Ring Road off-ramp onto Allandale Road southbound.
4) Ropewalk Lane at Empire Road
High traffic area with pedestrian activated light.
This intersection meets the warrants for a full traffic signal. The City Traffic Division is currently working on the traffic signal design for possible implementation later this year. Exact timing will be based on City wide priorities and available budget.
5) Highland Drive at Tamarack Street
Right-hand yield from Tamarack. The potential danger is hitting cars in the opposite direction, who are turning left into the Esso gas station.
This complaint will be reviewed by the City Traffic Division to determine what (if any) action is required.
6) Plymouth Road onto Duckworth Street
It's perfect a fork/Y in the road and it creates a confusing merge while crossing a lane of oncoming traffic. Have trouble understanding this last sentence? Drivers have trouble understanding this section of road.
This complaint will be reviewed by the City Traffic Division to determine what (if any) action is required.
7) Prince Philip Drive westbound left-hand turn onto Allandale Road
A blind spot is created when oncoming left-turning traffic is stopped.
The City Traffic Division will investigate this complaint further to determine if there is a collision problem caused by reduced visibility for westbound left turning traffic on Prince Philip Drive at Allandale Road. If there is a collision problem further assessment will be required to determine what corrective action is required.
8) Village Mall exit onto Hamlyn Road
The exit is right across the street from the exit to other strip malls and crosswalk causing heavy congestion and a confusing wild west situation.
The placement of the accesses on Hamlyn Road is currently under review by the City Development Division.
9) Major's Path/Portugal Cove Road
The left-hand turn onto Portugal Cove Road is dangerous due to high-speed traffic coming out of Airport Heights.
Speeding is an enforcement issue and will be forwarded to the RNC for investigation and action as they deem required.
10) Stavanger Drive at Torbay Road
Double left-hand turn onto Torbay Road southbound gets stopped by traffic on Torbay Road lining up to get into the Tim Hortons by blocking the intersection, preventing Torbay Road traffic from getting through the intersection when the lights change.
The City Traffic Division is reviewing the traffic signal timings on Torbay Road to see if any changes can be made that would alleviate this problem. The City is currently preparing to conduct a broader transportation study of Torbay Road in this area to determine the long term needs as development continues.
Staff will also be reviewing the operations at the Tim Hortons on Torbay Road at Majors Path to assess what impact it may be having on the flow of traffic on Torbay Road and what if any corrective action is required.
Hall of Fame/Shame
Rawlins Cross.
No specific issues identified to address.