Two accidents that caused damage to the southwest hydro pole and another that caused a series of traffic light outages due to a major accident at the northeastern corner of Vankleek Hill’s main intersection prompted Champlain Township to review the intersection and make recommendations if required. The municipality’s public works department presented its report to council at the most recent regular council meeting on February 22.
The recommendations will be forwarded to the United Counties of Prescott and Russell (UCPR), due to High Street and the Highway 34 portion within the village of Vankleek Hill being part of County Road 34, which is owned by the UCPR and to whom responsibility lies as it is the highest-tier of government in this joint-ownership situation.
A 2013 redesign increased the number of lanes on the northern side of the intersection along Highway 34 to include a turning lane for southbound traffic turning east. But the eastbound traffic on County Road 10 wanting to turn south onto Highway 34 remains problematic, according to the report.
The turning radii for the largest semi-trailer combination was undertaken to evaluate limitations or improved stop bar (stop line on the pavement) positions.
The possibility of closing the turning lane for semi’s and other large trucks travelling eastbound on County Road 10 for turning south onto Highway 34 and forcing said traffic east on County Road 10 to Highway 417 was also considered.
Diverting semi-s and heavy trucks onto an alternate route from Cassburn Road to Duval Road and onto Aberdeen Road, back onto Highway 34 southbound was considered.
A fourth option was the installation of a metal bollard on the outside edge of the hydro pole to prevent severe damage to the hydro pole.
EVB Engineering was asked to perfirm a turning radii study for the intersection. The results revealed that any semi-trailer trying to turn west onto County Road 10 from a northbound direction on Highway 34 or trying to turn south onto Highway 34 from an eastbound direction on County Road 10 cannot make the turn without substantial interference with stopped traffic, hydro poles or other structures.
An easy solution outlined in the public works report included moving the eastbound stop bar to the west of Highway 34 on County Road 10 from its current position to align with the rear edge of a building located at 10 High Street — about 18 metres west of its current position.
Other recommendations included:
— Install a “No Turning on Red Light” sign on the southwestern corner to prevent turning south onto Highway 34 from the west on County Rod 10 as no visibility from the new stop bar into the intersection.
Recommendations to improve the intersection
— Remove the parking zone to the west of the intersection and on the south side of County Road 10 to provide additional space for semi-trailers to turn
— Review the traffic light timing to ensure sufficient time to perform safe turns for semi-trailers as per the turning radii sketches.
The report notes that if issues persist, the remaining potential solutions may have to be reviewed.
Do you think there should be a bypass route for semi-trailers to remove the need for these large vehicles having to make sharp turns at Vankleek Hill’s main intersection?