Dear Councillor Chiarelli, incoming College Ward Councillor, and City of Ottawa Traffic Services Department,

We, the undersigned, urge you to take action regarding unsafe conditions for pedestrians and cyclists who wish to cross Maitland Avenue at the intersections of Glenmount and Erindale. As you’ve been made aware, the number of traffic violations and incidents of aggressive driving at these intersections is intolerable.

A high volume of pedestrians cross Maitland between the hours of 8:00-8:40 and again between 2:45-3:25, while traveling to and from school. Children and the adults who accompany them are placed at risk of serious injury or death on a regular basis. Despite having excellent crossing guards to alert drivers to the presence of pedestrians, the following traffic infractions occur regularly:

Running Red Lights

Drivers regularly turn right from Glenmount (on a green light) to head north on Maitland OR turn right from Erindale (on a green light) to head south on Maitland and run the red light for the intersection immediately following their turn just as children are heading into the intersection to cross. Concerned constituents who went to observe the traffic dynamics at the intersections noted red light runs every time they monitored the intersections at school-crossing times. The school crossing guards assigned to the intersections indicate that they see red light runs almost every shift they work.

Speeding

Vehicle traffic on Maitland is regularly congested during this time. Although a January 28, 2022 speed study showed that drivers were travelling an average of 60 km/hr, drivers are often travelling greater than 70 km/hr despite posted limits being 50 km/hr.

Crosswalk Encroachments

Drivers turning onto Maitland become impatient and begin making their turns while pedestrians are still crossing. Constituent observers noted a driver encroaching on pedestrians crossing every one in three minutes.

Unsafe Lane Changes

Drivers make last minute lane changes, with limited sight visibility, to avoid having to slow down for drivers turning left onto Glenmount (southbound) or Erindale (northbound). There were 13 collisions reported at the intersection of Maitland and Erindale in 2019, eight of which were sideswipes due to unsafe lane changes.*

We know that drivers along Maitland make unsafe decisions at these intersections at all times of day, not just at peak school crossing times. When there are no crossing guards to support pedestrian crossing, the risks increase further.

In the past, witnesses have filed police reports for some of the above infractions, but it is our firm belief that a majority of these incidents go unreported and therefore the risk is much higher than may be perceived.

Just up the road, there were 27 collisions reported at the intersection of Baseline and Clyde (2019). Baseline and Clyde has been referenced as one of the City of Ottawa’s top ten collision intersections. For its small size relative to Baseline and Clyde, it is appalling that the intersection at Maitland and Erindale accrued close to half the amount of collisions.

Changes have been made to intersections in the vicinity in response to accidents rather than to prevent them. The pedestrian light at Maitland close to Agincourt was installed after a traffic-related death and there were changes to the light flow at Maitland and Glenmount / Maitland and Erindale after a pedestrian was seriously injured by a driver turning left in 2018.

Additionally, we are aware of several high-density apartment buildings under development that will increase traffic congestion coming from Baseline at Clyde. There has been a lot of public outcry about the development of these units, one key reason being that safety concerns will multiply when the number of households relying on the Maitland artery to the highway increases so dramatically.

At various points, concerned individuals have requested the following changes to the intersections at Erindale and Glenmount, some of which have been inadequately addressed and some of which have been denied:

• Adjusting the timing of red lights to allow better traffic flow; making use of advanced turn signals for turning left into the neighbourhood AND for turning right out of the neighbourhood
• Restricting right turns on red during certain times of day
• Installing flashing lights to alert drivers of the need to stop ahead
• Increasing signage
• Making improvements to crosswalk markings (ie ladder markings)
• Extending the length of the crossing light to get across Maitland
• Installing a red light camera
• Considering installing additional traffic lights at other uncontrolled intersections to slow/manage traffic at more regular intervals along Maitland from the highway through to the Clyde junction
• Adding “Do Not Block Intersection” signs (to prevent vehicles from illegally blocking the intersection, and subsequently the pedestrian crossings, while waiting for left-turning vehicles to complete their turns)

Clearly there are many ideas that residents of our neighbourhood have suggested in the interest of increasing pedestrian safety. These requests have been denied based on not meeting the minimum requirements of the city’s Traffic Services guidelines. Our children’s safety should not be determined by minimum targets.

We, the Copeland Park and Belair Heights Community, demand that our concerns be better heard. It is no longer a small number of individuals advocating for change, but an entire community that is mobilizing around this. We will not allow another tragedy to necessitate making the substantive changes that are needed in order to increase public safety at these intersections. It is negligence to let them stand as they are.

Sincerely,

Concerned College Ward Constituents

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* Why use data from 2019 to support this argument? 2020 statistics are skewed by reduced traffic due to COVID-19; 2021 statistics remain unavailable to date. Source: 2019 Tabular Transportation Collision Data