[	Current Mood	|	thoughtful	]
[	Current Music	|	Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? - Chicago	]

As promised, I attended the "Public Meeting" regarding the proposed Westwood Drive / Browning Blvd 4-Way Stop on Thursday September 7th. This is a complicated situation, so please bear with me as I try to explain my opinion and position:

#1 - While I do not doubt the good intentions of the organizers of this function, I must point out that this meeting was intended to facilitate a community discussion of the issue. I do not feel that this was successfully accomplished due to the format of the meeting; the chair and organizers were all squarely on the "pro" side of the issue. This became extremely obvious when one of the meeting co-chairs repeatedly and rudely interrupted the City of Winnipeg's traffic expert as she attempted to explain the City's opinion. I identify with the many people who attended the meeting who have legitimate concerns about this issue but who were not given an appropriate opportunity in advance to make a prepared presentation.

I can say with certainty that if elected your councillor I would facilitate a balanced presentation of both sides of an issue, with a neutral chair, at any future public meetings. Throughout this process I have been troubled by what I consider a curious lack of disclosure. The format of this meeting did nothing to ease my feelings in that regard.


#2 - On the other hand, it is obvious that the Westwood / Browning Crosswalk (& stop sign) committee has identified a legitimate safety concern in our community. I thank them for all of their effort on all of our behalf. Any issue that deals with the well-being of our children inevitably has strong emotions attached to it and deserves the most serious and sober consideration from politicians and city experts. Safety is a fantastic ideal, which I support, however a stop sign at every intersection is not feasible: We cannot put Styrofoam on all of life’s sharp edges!

#3 - This year, the City of Winnipeg has spent thousands of dollars improving the crosswalk at Westwood and Browning. According to the City’s engineers, these improvements to the center median and sidewalk approaches give pedestrians a better view of oncoming traffic and provide what they consider an appropriate crossing situation. 

I feel it is unfortunate that the community has had little more than 3 weeks to evaluate this solution prior to the more drastic 4-Way stop proposal coming to a vote at public works.

It is my personal opinion that the crosswalk improvements deserve at least one year of community evaluation prior to other more drastic, permanent measures being considered. I encourage everyone concerned to check out these improvements for themselves and determine if your concerns are satisfied. I will appreciate your feedback in this regard as will the public works committee on Sept 12...

#4 – This being said, the 4-Way stop IS coming to a vote this Tuesday at the city’s public works committee. Councillors Clement, Thomas, Lubosch and Lazarenko will decide if the stop sign is to be installed after hearing presentations from community groups for and against. While I believe this vote should be postponed until the community at large has evaluated the recently installed crosswalk improvements, my feeling is that the committee will approve the installation of a 4-Way Stop.  If you're interested, I invite you to attend this meeting: Tuesday, September 12th at 9:00 am at City Hall, 510 Main Street.

#5 – Regardless of whether the 4-Way stop is approved this Tuesday, I am committed to an appropriate safety solution for the Westwood / Browning intersection. If elected as your councillor I will demand a report on the status of this intersection from the streets & transportation department, every 6 months, for the duration of my term.

#6 – At the "Public Meeting" the idea of a Westwood / Kirkfield Park traffic study was proposed.  I believe it would be appropriate to study the use of stop control (stop signs, crosswalks, etc) in all of St. Charles Ward, not just at this one intersection.  There are many unwarranted stop signs in our community that were installed 30 or 40 years ago that just don't make sense today.  Perhaps there are some other intersections that would benefit from the installation of stop controls.  I would like members of the community and traffic experts to contribute to this process:

If it were up to you, which stop sign would be the first to go?  Which intersections need more control?  Where do we need another crosswalk?  Please leave your answers as a comment to this post by clicking "Leave a Comment" below.  Responses can be anonymous!