Prepare to stop near St. Mary’s Gardens.

City council has decided to approve the installation of a three-way stop at Pine North and Fifth Avenue.

Councillor Joe Campbell says it’s a temporary measure to see how it works and until a crossover can be installed in the new year—sometime in May or June.

If you recall, council approved the installation of a pedestrian crossover in July 2017 after months of debate and flipping between options that would work best—including a three-way stop option.

However, there were delays in the project—due to the delivery of parts—and now council is opting to go with the stop signs as a “temporary solution.”

The Municipal Accessibility Advisory Committee’s Dan MacKay was at council to make the request for a pilot project and council, for the most part, was receptive to the idea.

Councillor Pat Bamford requested to have another meeting to come up with solutions.

“I have other solutions,” he told the rest of council.

Another sticking point was MacKay’s request to not only look at the stop sign option, but to add it in with all three readings and a final approval in the same night.

Councillor Rick Dubeau, long a critic of passing something in one night, wasn’t in favour of doing it this time around either.

“Let’s not act on emotion,” he said and asked for this vote to be pushed to the next meeting for formal approval and so everyone can comprehend the full situation before voting.

Councillor Mike Doody brought up the factor of Timmins Police and the traffic department, saying they didn’t feel stop signs were the way to go.

Others like Councillor Veronica Farrell welcomed the stop sign idea, saying it should be done “as soon as possible.”

Councillor Noella Rinaldo brought up how the crossover was already passed in July, and coined the “temporary solution” quote. She says that council shouldn’t be dragging this issue along any more.

Council won’t be dragging it any further, as it did get passed through.

Expect a notice to go out as soon as possible and for the signs to go up within the next couple weeks.

CLICK HERE to see the full discussion, under Item 4A.

Filed under: Local News