Emphasizing stop signs

The Town of Wabush is trying out some new technology in hopes of making a dangerous intersection a whole lot safer.

Solar-powered lights have been installed on two stop signs on Grenfell Drive.

"Basically it's designed to bring your attention to the stop signs that are there," Mayor Ron Barron said. "And, you can see it from quite a distance. They are built into the sign."

The mayor acknowledged that a lot of people just drive right on through without stopping and the issue has council looking at what options might be available to rectify the dangerous problem.

Positive so far

"We are getting an awful lot of positive comments about the solar lights," the mayor said. "You can see them from a quarter of a mile away and they seem to be giving a good warning of the stop sign coming up."

Barron said he appreciates that stop signs on a main drag are not the norm and with so many new people coming into the area, it does take newcomers some time to get used to it. The new warning lights, he hopes, will aid in that.

"But there are people who have been living here for years who don't stop," he added. "They just are barreling through; but if someone can't see those signs now, as far as I am concerned, they shouldn't be driving."

The winter test

Barron said the solar lights, which are manufactured in Florida, are working well since they were installed last week but the true test of their endurance will come in the more dominant season.

"We are concerned of how they hold up during the winter months," he said of the lights that cost $1300 a piece. "The [manufacturing] company saif they will be okay but our winters haven't got much in common with the Florida winters, so we will wait and see."

Though, he said, the lights are expensive, safety and the protection of lives is worth it.

"We've had a number of accidents at that intersection, including a fatal accident a few years ago," he pointed out. "Actually a woman who was involved (survived) in that accident was very happy to see the solar lights, and she came up to me praising me for the doing it."

Barron said the praise wasn't his to own, it was because of a suggestion from the Town's superintendant the solar lights came into Wabush.

"Ron Parson had noticed them when he was out in Montreal on vacation and he came back and told us about them," explained Barron. "He told the town manager that he thought the lights would be a good idea for here, the town manager agreed and so did the council."

The mayor said, if the lights prove to be a success in his town, he'll look at getting more. The Town, he said, continues to seek safety improvements for that intersection as well as other areas in the town.

"One time there was stop signs at the bottom of all those hills but cars (in winter months) would just slide on through," he noted. "And, that is why the signs were put on the main drags, because of the steep hills."

Shopping plaza lot

Coming off the shopping plaza parking lot is another area the Town is looking at in terms of how it can be made safer.

Though there isn't a stop sign coming off the lot onto Grenfell, Barron said, he was told a motorist was issued a ticket by the RNC last week for not stopping.

"There is no [Stop] sign there but, apparently, coming out off that parking lot, you are supposed to stop."

The mayor said the Town would likely be approaching the owner of the mall to discuss the same and see if there can be some signage installed and possibly a median.

"We are also contemplating putting a yield sign coming down the hill," Barron added. "A resident came to us a while ago when his wife was struck coming into that intersection by another vehicle there that came through the stop sign. His whole take on it was, if you had a yield sign at the bottom of the hill, at least his wife would've slowed down enough that she may have avoided the accident."

Open to ideas

All suggestions and ideas on how to make the area safer are welcome, according to the mayor.

"We've talked about it for years, but now we have to do something about it," he said "We are discussing different options and we are certainly open to ideas. If any one has any ideas I would urge them to go to the media or to one of the town councillors."