Region goes ahead with Mount Albert traffic light despite opposition
Hundreds of residents voiced their opposition to the traffic change

YorkRegion.com
Jan. 22, 2018
Simon Martin

It’s a green light for the much talked about traffic signal at the top of the hill in Mount Albert.

An update was delivered to York Region council Jan. 18 that reiterated the region’s plan to go ahead with the traffic light at Mount Albert Road and Centre Street in Mount Albert.

The move comes after the region put the decision on the light on hold after hundreds of residents voiced their opposition to the traffic change via a petition.

The region held further consultations with residents at an open house Nov. 27 when 120 people attended.

A traffic control signal was presented as the preferred solution to address sight line concerns, improved accessibility for people with disabilities, countdown pedestrian signals and increased street lighting.

Of the 59 comments received at the open house, only 11 were in favour of the light.

More than 40 per cent of the comments received from residents preferred an alternative location for a traffic control signal or another form of traffic control, such as a roundabout, all-way stop or flashing beacon.

That didn’t sway the region whose operational review at the intersection of Mount Albert Road and Centre Street determined a traffic control signal as the appropriate solution to address limited sight distance concerns.

The whole process was frustrating for local resident Patricia Thoun who was one the people who headed up the petition against the light. There were no real intentions of changing things at the meeting in November Thoun said. “The whole thing was a façade,” she said. “It was a waste of everybody’s time. They said ‘our option is the best option.’”

The region did say it incorporated some ideas from local residents into the design of the intersection.

Back in the fall, criticism from residents ranged from the light making the hill more dangerous in bad weather to their view the light does nothing to stop speeders.

I cannot imagine a school bus having to stop on that hill in good weather, let alone in rain or snow. Please reconsider this choice,” Rebecca Doner said.

“The residential streets will become busier with people trying to bypass the light,” Jeff Mackey said.

“Consider the fact that there is a school at the bottom of the hill and cars may be sliding backward toward that school, or you will get people running the red light so that they don’t risk sliding down the hill. Just not a good idea at all,” Lindsey Wensink said.

“I can’t believe that they’d even consider lights at the top of such a hill. Unbelievable way to create a safety issue rather than resolve one,” Dan Morris said.

Mayor Virginia Hackson said she was pleased that the region incorporated some of the ideas from residents and said this was what the region deemed to be the safest solution. With an additional 174 houses coming online on the south side of Mount Albert Road in the coming years, Hackson said there needed to be some sort of solution for the intersection.

Construction on the light is expected to begin in the spring.