Safety concerns continue for Orléans residents over roads near plaza entrance
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'A lot of people like to play chicken when they want to go into the plaza or come into our street,' said Martin Béchard, a Millwood Court resident. 'People like to go fast on that road, then one drives into the other.'
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Near the traffic light-controlled intersection of Jeanne d'Arc and Orléans boulevards is one of three entrances into Convent Glen Plaza, a shopping centre with stores like an LCBO, a Shoppers Drug Mart and a Metro. Across the road and off-set from the entrance is Millwood Court, a residential street managed by a condo board. Just a few steps away is a pedestrian crosswalk.
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Eleven collisions were reported at the location between 2015 and 2024, according to a July 15 emailed statement from Heidi Cousineau, the City of Ottawa's Manager of Traffic, Safety and Mobility. Nine resulted in property damage, two resulted in minor injuries and seven were considered preventable by implementing a traffic signal.
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Concerned and fed up, Béchard is looking for solutions. In late June, he emailed Orléans West-Innes Coun. Laura Dudas and requested that the city replace the pedestrian crosswalk with traffic lights between Millwood and the plaza entrance.
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'This change would not only improve safety for drivers exiting the plaza and Millwood Court, but also significantly enhance protection for pedestrians and transit users in the area,' he wrote.
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The city doesn't consider the area an intersection, but rather two private properties, according to Dudas' response. The condo board or the plaza would have to foot the bill to install traffic lights, but representatives say they are either unable to pay for a traffic light installation or not looking to put one in at all.
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'These are the private driveways for the plaza's parking lot and the private driveway for the Millwood Court condos,' Dudas' reply read. 'Under the Ontario Highway Traffic Act, these are legally no different than a single-family house's private driveway.
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'It is the responsibility of the private driveway landowner to determine if they want to install (a traffic light), as they have to pay for it, as well as for the annual maintenance.'
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