An all-way stop and “bumpout” were installed at the intersection of Queen and Mississagua streets Tuesday as traffic calming measures.

Crews started work at 9 a.m. and had the intersection open by 3:30 p.m.

The pilot project aims to see traffic safety and flow increase but if further study shows the signs are ineffective then they will be removed, director of operations Sheldon Randall told The Lake Report.

“We have to make some observations based on whether it’s actually reducing the (traffic) impact on the Chautauqua area or not,” Randall said.

“We’re just hoping we’re not causing more confusion.”

Randall said determining the intersection's effect on traffic can be challenging due to the pandemic. Traffic in town isn’t at the level it would have been pre-pandemic.

Another problem was the nature of traffic complaints in the Chautauqua area.

“We also don’t have a lot of historical data. I think most of the observations are anecdotal.”

He expressed concern that the full impact of the all-way stop can’t be understood until the Shaw Festival fully resumes its shows and the resulting traffic flow returns to the town.

If the pilot project is approved for permanent installation it will be tied in with future projects such as the reconstruction of Mississagua Street, Randall said.

“We’ll be designing next year so we’ll include any potential final designs into that,” he said.

The reconstruction of Mississagua Street is tentatively scheduled for 2022.

Randall expects the town will have a report on the impact of the all-way stop by the end of the fall.