Parent, mayor call for intersection changes at site of bus crash

The rural municipality of Kingston, P.E.I., is calling on the province to improve safety at a now-infamous intersection in the area. 

On Oct. 29, an SUV ran a stop sign on the Bannockburn Road, hitting a school bus full of children on the Kingston Road, causing it to roll on its side. Three children were sent to hospital, with one airlifted to Halifax.

A mother of three girls who were on the bus, Jolene Richardson, approached the municipal council to ask if they could reach out to the province to request that the intersection be made safer. 

"Any time we do something little to make our roads more safe, that is a pretty reasonable thing to do," Richardson said. 

Her girls were left feeling confused from the accident. 

"It took them a few days to process what was going on," RIchardson said.

Council sent a letter to the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure James Aylward on Wednesday outlining the requests of the council and Richardson. 

The recommendations include rumble strips, additional signage, trimming of foliage that blocks the stop sign, and a flashing light to bring attention to the intersection. 

Stopping at intersection 'doesn't always happen'

Kingston Mayor Alan Miller thinks these changes could help. 

"Any time I hit a rumble strip, it makes you aware that something is coming up," Miller said. 

He said he's seen people blow the stop sign before.

"When I'm approaching this intersection on the Kingston Road, I slow down. If I see anybody approaching from the other roads I'm always cautious that they're doing the right thing and coming to a full stop, but it doesn't always happen." 

The mayor said another issue is that the roads do not line up to face each other at a 90-degree angle. Miller hopes that the province could make additional changes so the intersection would have better sight lines.   

He added that the area has a lot of school bus traffic, with Bluefield Highschool just two kilometres away and East Wiltshire roughly six kilometres down the road, he said. 

"The department has done an initial review of the sight lines of the intersection and has started a more comprehensive review of the area, which includes reviewing the accident history, monitoring traffic volume," said transportation officials in an email. 

The department said it has not yet received a copy of the letter, but will provide further information to the community once it is received. 

Richardson said she appreciates the work of the council. 

"It's a tough situation but nice to know our communities have our back," she said.