Council Taking Public Input on Three-Way Stop

Friday, 10 July 2015 06:08

Concerns from residents have convinced council to open up the floor for public opinion on a three-way stop.

WOODSTOCK - Woodstock City Council reexamined the decision to put a three-way stop sign at the intersection of Meadow Wood Lane and Lakeview Drive.

The implementation of the stop signs hoped to deter speeders in that area, but since the decision County and City Councillor Deb Tait says she received many calls about how sight lines, and not speed, was the issue that needed to be addressed. Councillor Tait is now satisfied the best course of action has been reached as a report will be put together using public input. "For planning we notify everybody within 120 metres, they are going to be affected, so they can have input into it. It is a concern with the sight lines so if that is going to happen that is great. I want to know in my mind that we've done everything we could, and we've looked at all the options, I don't want to go with just the cheapest option, I want to go with the best option for everybody." The report will determine other traffic calming measures for this specific area.

Tait says council had made a major mistake by not informing the entire surrounding residents of what was happening, and how the a stop sign isn't the answer to slow speeding cars. "Three-way and four-way stops never are a way to control speeding; it has to be enforcement. Now this is different because of the way it's designed, so I am okay with a three-way stop. I would have really preferred a report coming forward so we could have discussed it at the table. This will come forward and all the public will be notified in that area so if they have other concerns we will hear those too."

Councillor Tait is looking forward to hearing public opinion on the matter, and a report from the engineering office will also help. "A report from the engineering office on all of the options available for that area - we should have done that from the beginning. That was a major mistake by all of us, I didn't realize that not all the citizens in the area had not been notified. We heard from a lot of people afterwards that had no idea what was going on."

City Council will be sure to continue to monitor the situation when they re-group again in August.