To County of Renfrew Decision-Makers and Mayor, Council, and Municipal Staff of the Town of Arnprior:

We, the undersigned residents and community members of Arnprior formally submit this petition to request immediate infrastructure intervention on Madawaska Boulevard. Specifically, we call for the completion of a traffic study and subsequent action to enhance pedestrian safety at the intersection of Madawaska Boulevard and Moe Robillard/McNab Street. 

The eastern stretch of Madawaska Boulevard is a dangerous location.  Connected to Highway 17 and located near the 417, it is heavily used by patrons visiting nearby businesses and restaurants, as well as local residents walking their pets and children on their way to the park and ball diamond. Furthermore, it runs adjacent to a local retirement villa, home to a number of residents who may have difficulty crossing the street quickly. The road will only grow more hazardous, given the addition of two new apartment complexes under development nearby.

Over the summer, residents in the surrounding area began to raise concern regarding the safety of children and other pedestrians using and crossing Madawaska Boulevard with the back-to-school season approaching.  

Unfortunately, on a clear Friday morning on September 11th, in just her second week back to school, 14-year-old Makenna was on her way to the bus stop when she was struck by a car at the intersection of Madawaska Boulevard and Jack Crescent/Bridge Street. Notably, this is the only signalled, controlled crossing on the eastern stretch of Madawaska Boulevard, between Highway 17 and Bridge Street, yet the incident happened here regardless. We believe that a single point of protection partway down a busy corridor is not enough.

After receiving initial care from witnesses and first responders at the scene, Makenna was rushed to the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario. There, she spent a grueling day receiving trauma care and diagnostic imaging.

Makenna is now home beginning her long journey to recovery. Now, we must ensure that proper infrastructure is in place to prevent this and similar instances from happening again.

Residents of surrounding subdivisions have witnessed or experienced close calls while attempting to cross the road at this controlled intersection, as well as further east, at the intersection of Madawaska Boulevard and Moe Robillard/McNab Street.  

We believe that the incident impacting Makenna highlights a possible infrastructure failure. While Madawaska Boulevard has signals further west, its easternmost stretch is left with only a single point of protection at Bridge Street, which is not enough for a road this busy. In particular, we believe that signals at the extremely busy Moe Robillard/McNab Street intersection could have helped prevent this tragedy by slowing traffic well before it reached the crossing where Makenna was struck. Additionally, while, to the best of our knowledge, a similar incident to Makenna's has not yet been reported at this intersection, we are concerned it is only a matter of time, given the heavy, fast-moving traffic and lack of any signal or designated crossing. We do not want to wait for a tragedy before action is taken.

There is an urgent need for an additional set of mitigation measures that ensure pedestrians have clear right of way and force drivers to slow down as they leave the highway and enter a busy, multi-use area with many pedestrians, long before they reach Bridge Street.

We ask that the County of Renfrew and the Town of Arnprior collaborate to convene and coordinate these efforts, which may include but are not necessarily limited to installing additional traffic lights and upgrading and maintaining pedestrian infrastructure like sidewalks on Madawaska Boulevard year-round.  

We implore the County of Renfrew and the Town of Arnprior to use our tax dollars to complete a traffic study and consider traffic mitigation measures to improve safety.

Community safety is non-negotiable, and the risks are clear. Makenna’s case cannot happen again.