'Someone's going to get killed': Richmond Hill resident begs city to take action at crash-prone intersection

Barb Orr said she's concerned about the safety of schoolchildren if situation isn't addressed

Yorkregion.com
April 5, 2022
Jeremy Grimaldi

Barb Orr believes it’s only a matter of time before someone is seriously hurt or killed due to Richmond Hill’s refusal to put a four-way stop at an intersection that sits mere meters from her door.

What's worse, she says, is that it will only be after death or serious injury that someone will finally take action.

This after the Richmond Hill resident says a third collision in the past four years took place on March 14 at 9:24 a.m. at the intersection of Laverock Avenue and Lucas Street, a neighbourhood in a designated school zone.

“Usually there are parents and children walking to school, but thankfully it was March break when this happened,” she told yorkregion.com. “If it had of been school hours, it could have been a different story. Someone is going to get seriously injured or killed if something is not done.”

She’s convinced the crashes are occurring because the intersection remains a two-way stop. Moreover, after vehicles ended up on her lawn in two of the three incidents, she believes such incidents endanger the public.

Orr said motorists often speed in the area and she sees plenty of near misses by drivers confused because most of the other local streets end with drivers having to turn right or left.

So far, the city has dismissed her concerns, including ones expressed after a collision on Jan. 28, 2021. However, a city spokesperson says it is looking into the crash.

“(We are) aware of only three minor collisions reported at this intersection within the last 20 years,” wrote spokesperson Ash O’Malley. “City staff are seeking a collision report from York police related to this most recent incident, when available, to determine possible contributing factors for this collision.”

Despite this, she further noted that staff have been monitoring the situation for some time and have decided that a number of warrant assessments at the junction -- the latest of which took place in March 2022 -- have not met the requirement for an all-way stop.

“Implementing unwarranted traffic controls at intersections can potentially increase risks of further collisions due to non-compliance,” wrote spokesperson Ash O’Malley.

The former local councillor, David West, who is now Richmond Hill’s mayor, did not reply to requests for comment on the matter.

In his absence, Coun. Tom Muench said he agrees with the city, explaining that if residents don’t allow staff to do their work and make corresponding decisions, Richmond Hill will end up with an "ad hoc" process, which can come with unintended consequences.

“Drivers get conditioned, so if there’s a stop sign on every corner, they feel they need to (stop, even when there is no stop sign), that can lead to road rage and liability,” he said.

Muench noted that he’s worked on a similar situation in his ward, in the past.

During that process, he said, the city decided to switch the location of a stop sign rather than mount another one, showing it is willing to take steps when needed; however, it may not always be the one residents want.

York police Const. Maniva Armstrong said the force is investigating the incident involving a 2012 Toyota and a 2010 Jeep.

She said there was damage to both vehicles and the driver of the Jeep was assessed at the scene by paramedics and released.