errace Review — Wednesday, November 8, 1989” oe “ayear later, traffic safety concerns still alive _TERRACE — A few area residents ‘have expressed re- newed concerns for pedestrian - .and traffic safety following two ._. gséparate incidents in the down- "town core. | -.” The.first occurred at Emerso _.. ‘anid Greig on Saturday, Oct.:28, - and .the second took’ place at . Kalum:and Lazelle the following Monday. In both cases, the. pedestrians were using desig- nated.crosswalks and the drivers were charged with failing to yield to a pedestrian. The question of downtown safety was raised by the Terrace Review last December when a story and photograph described an accident in which an elderly gentleman was struck and in- jured while using a crosswalk at Sparks and Lakelse on Dec. 7. RCMP attributed the accident to ‘‘driver inattention’’, The following week, pedestrian safe- ty made the front page again when council gave the Public Works and Finance Committees the responsibility of examining solutions and costs of what was - described as a problem that was getting worse. The committee referrals were made by alderman Danny Sheridan, who said that even though a traffic study was underway, there is a problem on Lakelse that needed immediate attention. ‘‘You’re better off to J-walk,’’ Sheridan was quoted as saying at the time. ‘‘At least then you can treat every driver as the enemy.” ‘The Dec. 21 Terrace Review carried the headling, ‘“Commit- tee awaits study on traffic and pedestrians”. This story told of a meeting between the Finance Committee and the RCMP which resulted in the following recommendation being sent to council: to implement a pedes- trian/driver awareness program and to have the RCMP monitor certain crosswalks for a specified time and warn or ticket any violators. In subsequent issues, the Ter- race Review reported in January that council favored N.C. Lee Colsultants Ltd. for a downtown traffic study. The traffic study was initiated following a shopping center pro- posal that would have required the closure of Ottawa St. but because the study was com- _ missioned to look at the whole downtown core, it was expected to address safety problems as well, 7 On Feb. 8, the Terrace Review reported there may be a safety problem at Kalum and Greig due to a traffic control light that had gone to flashing amber and red. The problem at that time was said to be due to poor visibility and cars sliding into or through . the intersection when ap- proaching from the icy downhill slope of Kalum to the north. The same story told of flashing lights at Emerson and Lakelse because an old and worn mechanical ‘controller .was malfunctioning. Unlike her aging counterpart at -. Kalum and. Greig though, the story read, the light on Lakelse “would. be repaired. There were - 46 parts for the Greig Ave. light, however, ard it would be flashing for the foreseeable future. It’s been almost a year since that elderly gentleman was struck on Lakelse, and those who have followed the issue § might ask what's been changed to improve the situation. Here’s . an update: the crosswalks .on Lakelse are the same, the traffic. light at Kalum and Greig is still flashing amber and red, the one on Lakelse is broken again, and we're still waiting for the results - of the downtown traffic study. The results of the traffic study may be a while in coming. Ac- cording to mayor Jack Talstra, this item is stilE in the hands of the Public Works Committee. He explains that when the Okanagan Skeena Group chang- ed their minds on the closure of Ottawa St., there was less urgen- cy to complete the study. The city’s Director of En- gineering, Stew Christensen,says he has contracted Twin River Electric and the traffic light on Lakelse will be repaired soon. A Twin River Electric spokesman says the work will be done this week. What is interesting, how- ever, is just how this repair job is -going to be done. According to Christensen, the controller at the Greig Ave. light was replaced many months ago. It was previously thought this light was irrepairably damaged. So the solution is simple. The con- troller from Greig will be swap- ped with the one on Lakelse, which can do nothing more than flash orange and red, and everything will be back to “‘nor- mal?’’, Why was the Greig Ave. light not returned to normal itself? According to Christensen, “Once it was down, they didn’t want it to go back to a traffic light.”? And who are they? ‘‘The public,’’ says Christensen. In the meantime, Christensen says Ter- race Co-op manager Lawrence Gosselin, who apparently also believed the light was ir- repairably damaged, expressed concern over safety and asked for a four-way stop to be in- stalled. - Christensen said he asked the RCMP what they thought and was told that, unlike Emerson | and Greig, there had been no ac- cidents at Kalum and Greig. “The RCMP didn’t say it was safe,”’ says Christensen. ‘‘They just didn’t recommend any change.” Charge laid Ralph Hans Rutschmann of Vanderhoof has been charged with speeding by Vanderhoof RCMP follow- ing an investigation into a traffic accident which claimed the lives of three Terrace residents earlier this year. The accident occurred 26 kilometers west of Vanderhoof at about 2:20 p.m. March 4 when a pickup truck driven by Rutschmann collided with a car carrying Terrace residents Sarah Bevan, Norman Gill and 16-year-old Kelsey Cootes. Road conditions and visibili- ty were reported to be good at the time of the accident. Traffic arrangements In Terrace like the flashing lights at intersections and four-way stops remain much like they were a year ago as a traffic safety study commissioned by city coun- — cil languishes somewhere in the city government committee system. Transit meeting tonight TERRACE — The future of our local transit system will be the topic of discussion at a public meeting to be held in city hail at 7:30 p.m. tonight. To be ad- dressed are three proposals and a recommendation included in a draft proposal from a B.C. Transit study which would im- plement a HandiDART system and tighten up the operation of - the current transit system in Ter- race. The study was initiated by a request: from Terrace Distirct Community Services’ home ser- vices coordinator Betty Stewart for a HandiDART system in Terrace. The first of three options sug- gest by B.C. Transit involves the purchase of a minibus, or van, to provide transit service to the disabled on a_ ‘‘dial-a-ride’’ basis. The second would boost the number of midday runs making it. an hourly service to provide what the report des- cribes as ‘‘an incentive to mid- day users”. This option would also increase accessibility by ad- ding more stops to each route to decrease walking distances, ad- ding more bus shelters at key locations to provide protection from the elements, and offer direct service to Mills Memorial Hospital and Terraceview Lodge as well an expanded route to in- clude Twin River Estates on an ‘fon demand”’ basis. The third option, the: one recommended by B.C. Transit, would mean adjusting the type of transit vehicle to better match the needs of present-day users. and the introduction of a paratransit concept to meet the needs of those finding it difficult to use the current system due to some form of disability. Under — this option, the transit needs of the greater Terrace area would | be met with one regular bus and two van-sized buses, The regular bus would provide the capacity required for school students while the vans would provide the necessary capacity and require- ments for both a conventional and custom system. According to the B.C. Transit study, the present--system-does not effectively meet the needs of the average user and offers little or nothing to users with even mild disabilities. If the third op- tion is accepted, the new system could be in place as early as next . year and offer better service to nearly all area residents. i BA RN Cotes Ge SHER GRAND OPENING © THE CHRISTMAS STORE (Abracadabra) Friday, November 10, 1989 GRAND OPENING SPECIAL 15 % OFF your entire purchase on November 10th only Como in and see our entire Christmas selection ¢ Open til Midnight for Grand Opening only - SKEENA MALL * TERRACE, B.C.