Modified intersections along Metral Drive will slow traffic in a bid by the city to make the route safer for pedestrians and drivers.
Plans to alter traffic flow on Metral were brought up at a city council meeting March 21 when an area resident expressed his resistance to the removal of a right-hand turning lane at the Metral Drive and Doumont Road intersection. The turn lane allowed vehicles a separate lane to turn right from Doumont Road onto Metral Drive, but has been replaced with a sidewalk and bike lane.
Burnie Smith, an Everest Drive resident who appeared before council, said plans presented during a public meeting Nov. 27 showed two lanes exiting Doumont Road onto Metral Drive, but the right hand turn lane has since been eliminated.
“You now have a sidewalk and a bike lane to nowhere…” Smith said. “This is not a minor adjustment to plans. It is a significant change to the third-busiest intersection on Metral Drive.”
Smith asked if consideration was given to potential higher traffic volume from possible future development in the Doumont area and if narrowed lanes can accommodate large vehicles, such as fire trucks and commercial transport trucks.
Coun. Ian Thorpe said he shared some of the resident’s concerns and wondered about the rationale behind removing the Doumont to Metral right-hand turn lane.
Bill Sims, city general manager of engineering and public works, said members of the public expressed concerns about safety considering vehicle speeds on Metral Drive. He said there are also issues with the grades of the road at the intersection and sight lines along Metral Drive from Doumont Road.
“The challenge with the speeds, of course, is that people especially noted turning left out of Doumont, going northbound on Metral was really challenging because they weren’t sure of the timing. There wasn’t much space,” Sims said.
Sims said creating three-way-stop intersections and simplifying them by removing turning lanes makes them less confusing for drivers to navigate and safer for pedestrians.
“The shorter you can make the crossing distance the, the more effective it is for allowing pedestrians to cross and with the proximity of [Pleasant Valley Elementary School], of course, our primary concern is safety for children,” Sims said.
READ ALSO: City of Nanaimo receives $500,000 grant to go toward Metral Drive work
The Doumont intersection will have stop signs, but has the infrastructure in place to so traffic lights can be installed in the future if needed.
In an e-mail to the News Bulletin, Sims noted that Turner and Dunbar road intersections along Metral are also becoming three-way stops to “change the character of Metral” from a high-speed shortcut to a primary active transportation corridor that can still accommodate cars, but at a more sedate pace.
photos@nanaimobulletin.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
