New all-way stop coming to Aberdeen and Masson
By Chris Jones/The Oshawa Express
City council has voted to add another all-way stop to the streets of Oshawa, but not without some debate.
The new all-way stop will be located at the intersection of Aberdeen Street and Masson Street, and only Ward 5 City Councillor John Gray voted against it, citing a number of stop signs already on Aberdeen.
“We’re going to add another stopping point, and we’ve also got to keep in mind, we’ve got that delicate balancing act of trying to keep neighbourhoods happy, but not putting in so many stop signs along the way that it just becomes frustrating for drivers as well,” he said.
However, he notes the only real solution is for people to be more conscious of their neighbourhoods and not speed.
But every other councillor, and Mayor Dan Carter, lent their support behind the all-way stop, with Ward 3 City Councillor Bradley Marks expressing his support.
“I do know the area. It is a bit of a specialized area. You have the seniors building to the south, and then you have the residential area, which is a high walking residential area in that corridor,” he said.
He noted he often walks there with his wife, and thinks the all-way stop is a good idea.
However, while most of council was quick to lend their support to the recommendation, Ward 2 City and Regional Councillor Tito-Dante Marimpietri attempted to add two more all-way stops along Brittania Avenue.
Marimpietri wanted to have all-way stops installed along Brittania at Raike Drive, and Stornoway Street.
But Ward 3 City and Regional Councillor Bob Chapman proposed sending the amendment back to staff for further investigation. While council ultimately voted for a referral back to staff, Marimpietri expressed his displeasure at the prospect of waiting.
“I find it unfortunate that this won’t be dealt with in a timely manner,” he said. “It’s been months that the direction has been given to community services to deal with the item. It’s been left in limbo, and [Ward 2 City] Councillor [Jane] Hurst and I, as well as the mayor, have experienced a great deal of difficulty in dealing with the item, and I’m quite surprised that it hasn’t been embraced with approval as per Aberdeen and Masson.”
He noted a number of residents in the area, including a number of police officers, have reached out to council and expressed their concern with the state of the area, as well as how long it is taking the city to deal with the problem. Carter then attempted to compromise with Marimpietri.
“What we’ll do is we’ll send it to community services, we’ll ask for a prompt response back, expedited as quickly as possible on the referral,” he said.
But Ward 4 City Councillor Derek Giberson wondered whether or not it was a feasible timeline for city staff.
“Staff have already done a lot of preliminary work on this file, and yes we can get that back for the next community services, and council meeting,” said Ron Diskey, commissioner of community services.
However, Marimpietri was still concerned with the process, expressing his desire for more information.
“What will come back? That we deny the stop signs on Brittania? Because if that’s the case, we can just find that out today,” he said. “We don’t need a report for that, and the timing of another two to three weeks to find that out is, I believe, dangerous to the local area.”
Ultimately, the amendment was referred back to staff, with Marimpietri, Ward 1 City and Regional Councillor John Neal, Ward 5 City and Regional Councillor Brian Nicholson, and Carter voting against it. Hurst also expressed regret later on, and stated she meant to vote no.