Parking spots will be removed to fix sight-line issues

Four parking spaces will be removed along Prideaux Street to improve sight lines for drivers after the town received safety complaints from residents.

Councillors unanimously voted to remove the parking spots and rejected the installation of a four-way stop sign at the intersections of Prideaux and Victoria and Regent streets.

Staff studied the intersections last summer after receiving reports of safety concerns from residents.

The report found two-way traffic along Prideaux averaged 614 vehicles per day and turning volume from Regent and Victoria onto Prideaux was 74 and 148 cars per hour, respectively.

The Ontario Traffic Manual says the minimum vehicle flow per hour to justify a four-way stop is 350, meaning neither intersection qualifies for the traffic control measure.

The other requirement for a four-way stop is if an intersection has four or more preventable collisions in a four-year period.

The respective intersections had four collisions in the last four years, only two of which were deemed preventable.

A collision is considered preventable if it is reasonable to assume the presence of a four-way stop would have mitigated the incident, the report says.

Both intersections had appropriate sightlines but staff reported they were impeded when cars parked along Prideaux Street, prompting the recommendation that council remove two spots at each intersection.

The town will install four no-parking signs at a cost of roughly $500, the report says.