Road Safety concerns remain on the mind of City Council

Councillors Niesh and Cunningham had a few more notes on road safety
issues in the community to share with Council on Monday evening

With more reports of pedestrian/vehicle incidents, as well as accounts of near misses, Prince Rupert City Council members took some of the time on Monday evening to address some safety concerns in the City.

The discussion took place towards the end of the Monday session and was led off by Councillor Wade Niesh, who explored a number of themes related to safety on the roads.

Councillor Niesh opened his review by recounting an incident relayed to him by his wife following the Festival of Lights earlier this month, where poor lighting in the area of the Longhouse on 1st Avenue West  has raised another issue of concern to add to the growing list in the downtown core.

The councillor noted that from his look around the area, that it is only every second pole that features a street light and asked for staff to investigate the potential for adding more lighting to the area.

He also observed that there are few parking spots available in the area which is providing for some concern from those who use the areas facilities, he also highlighted for Council that a lot of young people are making use of the Longhouse through the local gymnastics club.

The area near the Museum of Northern British Columbia is another part
of the city where road and pedestrian safety issues have been raised

Mayor Brain followed up on his road safety themes with some observations from a conversation he recently had with Transportation officials based in Terrace. The Mayor advised council members that  Darrell Gunn had committed to a meeting with council and staff to investigate  safety measure options for the entire thoroughfare along Second Avenue West.

He outlined for Council how he hopes to see more information related to that in person meeting in the new Year.

Councillor Cunningham called attention to some safety measures that are being used in Lower Mainland communities, where small LED lights, the size of a hockey puck are embedded on the streets as an alternative form of safety lighting worth investigating.

The councillor also added that he would still like to see additional overhead lighting put in place at a number of the cross walk locations along Second Avenue and Third Avenue West.

As for the upcoming session planned with the Provincial Transportation official, Mr. Cunningham asked that he be included in any discussions that the city holds with the Ministry officials.

You can review the full discussion on road safety concerns from the City's Video Archive, starting at the 42 minute mark.



For more notes or road safety issues, see our Emergency Services Archive,  as well as our transportation archive page here.

Further background from Monday's Council Session can be reviewed from our archive here.

A larger overview of Council Discussion topics is available from our Council Discussion page here.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review