The Region of Waterloo plans to address four intersections in an expansion of its all-way stop program, including one each in Wellesley and Woolwich townships.
All-way stops are planned for Herrgott Road at Lobsinger Line in St. Clements, and the intersection of Fountain and Menno streets in Breslau. They’ll be joined by new signage at Erbsville Road and Conservation Drive in Waterloo, and Bleams and Sand Hills roads in Wilmot Township.
The approval of the plan last week by regional council was welcomed by Wellesley Mayor Joe Nowak, who noted residents there have expressed concerns about the intersection, though they had been hoping for traffic lights.
“I’ve had the opportunity to speak with a number of the residents in St. Clements regarding the four-way stop at Herrgott and Lobsinger, and I think for the most part they are pleased. The way they’ve put it is there is finally something happening there – [they’ve been]looking for a safer route across these roads since I was elected. I think it will be well received. However, I think the vast majority of the individuals have been advocating for stop lights,” he said, adding he is expecting lively input around the much-needed change at the intersection.
Woolwich Mayor Sandy Shantz said the pilot-project installation of an all-way stop at Menno Street may not be particularly helpful with traffic flow at Conestoga Meat Packers.
“That has been a problem for us for quite some time. … With a four-way stop a lot of the problem as far as I know right now is at certain times of day when Conestoga Meat lets out, for example. A four-way stop isn’t going to adjust for that, but it is a pilot and I’m very happy to see something happen there to help with that traffic flow,” she said.
Added regional Coun. Jim Erb, “I think in the last couple of years all council members in the whole region received communication from residents who have expressed safety concerns at most of these intersections. It’s good to see that staff are identifying and considering the all-way stop warrants that put more emphasis on the safety rather than on the delay, especially in the rural areas.”
He noted that the Erbsville Road and Conservation Drive intersection has a posted 50 km/h speed limit but averages 60 km/h, with the all-way stop perhaps helping to bring down the speed.
