Town Coun. Ken Kwiatkowski had a great idea in the council chambers on Jan. 23. He suggested the Town apply to remove the rumble strips at Highway 881 and Highway 29, where, to his surprise, rumble strips were extended even after the intersection saw traffic lights erected.
Both Kwiatkowski and Coun. Don Padlesky said they have heard numerous complaints about the rumble strips, which are typically used on Highway intersections approaching a stop sign. Rumble strips are used to alert drivers to a nearing stop, not an intersection where the lights may direct the driver to proceed safely through the intersection, councillors noted.
There simply is no need for rumble strips at this intersection. There is no added safety benefit. They do nothing to improve public safety and instead confuse drivers, who may instinctively and erroneously assume they have to stop, when in fact the controlled intersection may allow drivers to proceed.
While not mandatory, Alberta Transportation’s best practices recommend removing the rumble strips, as reported in the Journal this week. There is no safety advantage of rumble strips in a slow speed area at a light controlled intersection.
The speed limit is 50 km, preceded by a 70 km zone to the north on Highway 881, giving drivers ample time to slow down, and as Kwiatkowski noted, a tremendously long period of time to notice the bright right, green or yellow lights alerting drivers to the coming intersection. If people aren’t alerted to the approaching intersection by all the other signs, bumps in the road are unlikely to help. Perhaps drivers of this caliber would be better off handing in their licences.
Surprisingly, in response to a Journal query on our Facebook page, nearly all respondents commented in favour of keeping the bumps. While it may be a reminder of an approaching intersection, according to the department tasked with guiding road safety, there is no safety advantage to rumble strips at this intersection. For that reason, Kwiatkowski’s motion should have passed. Council should investigate this matter further and consider the “best practices” recommended by Alberta Transportation.
