Re: “Draft city dollars for roads; Proposed 2019 budget aims to address intersection with high rate of collisions” (St. Albert Gazette, Oct. 31).
I can’t believe this issue is still only being talked about, with no concrete plans in the works to solve it. The St. Albert Trail-Giroux-Boudreau intersection has become increasingly dangerous over the years due to poor planning on the city’s part and it should never have gotten this bad. But the solution will not be an easy one.
The other day, I was returning home from Costco and stopped at the light there as it went amber. There was a dump truck in the left-turn lane next to me. Anyone with any driving experience knows that vehicles of that size take some time to get moving from a complete stop. Well, when the protected left-turn light onto Boudreau came on, the driver accelerated, only to slam on his brakes when not one but FIVE vehicles ran the east-west red light.
If that wasn’t bad enough, a sixth car heading northbound also ran the red. The city would have more than paid for enforcement if there had been a squad car there and the deterrent effect for those six drivers would last a long time. Paying for more studies, re-timing lights and other band-aid solutions aren’t going to be enough.
Jan Fortier, St. Albert
