Columbia Valley Pioneer staff
Invermere council is considering requests from a few residents to establish more traffic calming measures to address speeding on 5th Street.
Local resident Barry Wiseman and three other property owners attended a recent meeting with council to discuss their petition to enhance safety in the neighbourhood.
“We were very happy with the attention that the council gave to our situation,” Wiseman told the Pioneer. He noted there were some different opinions and feedback given about the current four-way stop signs at 5th Street and 12th Avenue. “Some council members were supportive and others were not sure if what we proposed should be implemented.”
Wiseman presented signed petition sheets to council with 33 signatures from 5th Street residents and a few from other areas in the neighbourhood. He stated how effective the four-way stop has been at 5th Street and 12th Avenue so far.
“We want the four-way stop made permanent, (and) we want stop lines painted as soon as possible,” Wiseman said as part of their request to council.
“We want the risks to public safety mitigated at the intersection of 5th Street and 13th Avenue as it is an intersection of pedestrians and vehicles,” he added.
Wiseman noted that westbound pedestrians approach a semi-blind spot at the corner of 5th and 13th. Only one stop sign is present for westbound vehicles, and no yield signs are present on 13th Avenue, he stated.
The following are options that residents want council to seriously consider: a three-way stop at the west end of 5th Street, and crosswalks with signage (at least two crosswalks, one crossing 13th and one crossing 5th where current stop line exists).
Wiseman said seniors, school children, day care kids, and others travel either on the side of the road or on grass or on the road itself. “They walk or cycle or e-bike or skateboard or use electric scooters. Many travel in large groups.”
Wiseman requested council to have the district roads policy document updated. “It should be more succinct, and references to Calgary traffic calming measures removed as they are not appropriate for Invermere and have not been used here.”
He noted that traffic in Invermere has become more of a problem over the years relating to volume and speed, and that many other jurisdictions have changed their speed limits to 40 or 30 kilometres per hour.
Invermere Mayor Al Miller told the Pioneer that council had a good, meaningful discussion with the residents.
“Since we put the stop signs in on 5th and 12th Avenue, the traffic has slowed down. Not everyone is paying attention to the signs, as some are blowing right through. But for the most part it’s working.”
Miller said this has been an experiment to see how things go before the district starts painting lines, which he envisions in the near future.
“We have listened to the overall ask and will consider our options for future. For now we will monitor the four-way stop, hoping for slower traffic on 5th.”
