Councillor unhappy with process to install stop signs
Kedron Park sits on Britannia Avenue East, where residents have been asking the city to install a number of stop signs for some time now. While the issue has been referred back to staff, some councillors have expressed their displeasure with how long the process is taking. (photo by Chris Jones)
By Chris Jones/The Oshawa Express
Tensions were running high at city hall as councillors began to question the process of how a stop sign is implemented.
While council ultimately voted to install an all-way stop at Aberdeen Street and Masson Street, they referred an amendment to install stop signs at two intersections along Brittania Avenue back to staff.
This drew the ire of Ward 2 City and Regional Councillor Tito-Dante Marimpietri, as he was the one he brought forth the amendment.
Speaking with The Oshawa Express, Marimpietri says it’s the length of the process it takes to get a stop sign approved which irks him.
“It should not take such a struggle of consultation to approve a few stop signs that cost a couple hundred dollars and speed boards which were purchased through our budget with the project in mind,” he says.
He says the previous council should have dealt with this issue in anticipation of the problem as part of a bridge connection built. Marimpietri believes this problem should have been foreseen and now he just wants the issue resolved.
“Now I need action from staff and colleagues from whom I have always been supportive of when they presented needs within their wards,” he says.
The Ward 2 councillor says he understands there is a process, but is tired of the delays, and “the excuses.”
“Local residents should be given the benefit of such improvements without the inherent struggles of the bureaucracy,” he says. “Sometimes we just have to make a decision to help positively advance improvements for our community that may not be the staff status quo. That’s why we are here – to represent people and be their voices.”
The area in need, according to a string of emails between Marimpietri and a resident in the area, is along Kedron Park, which Marimpietri notes is a “beautiful area.”
“The impact of the connection – a decision made by the previous council – is something I have been working hard to help mitigate with landscape improvements and traffic safety measures for local residents, many of which I know well as I grew up playing at Kedron Park in its original state,” he says.
Ultimately, Marimpietri wants to maintain a safe, liveable quality of life for the local residents.
The Ward 2 regional councillor wasn’t the only councillor to voice his displeasure at the length of time it can sometimes take to have a stop sign approved or declined.
“Having been around for a few years, I rarely see a council voting against stop signs, or traffic lights, when the community strongly supports them. I believe that the process that we have… definitely needs a review,” Ward 5 City and Regional Councillor Brian Nicholson said during the most recent city council meeting.
Nicholson noted to council how difficult it can be for stop signs to even be approved.
“If you look at the protocols and standards that are put out for the placement of stop signs, and in some cases traffic lights, it’s virtually impossible to meet the standards,” he said.
The veteran councillor doesn’t believe a resident’s request for a stop sign is something they do lightly.
“People don’t request stop signs willy-nilly, they do it because there’s a concern and it’s the easiest way to resolve some of the safety issues, and allow pedestrians to have some ability to cross our streets,” he said.
When asked about the process of approving a stop sign, Commissioner of Community Services Ron Diskey said it isn’t an “onerous process.” He noted staff would have gone to the area in question, and use tools to measure traffic volume and record the number of vehicles using the area.