ST. PAUL – During a delegation with Bonnyville-Cold-Lake-St. Paul MLA Scott Cyr at the June 23 Town of St. Paul meeting, Coun. Nathan Taylor called for a four-way stop sign at the St. Brides intersection.
Taylor said neighbouring municipalities like the County of St. Paul, as well as First Nations, also express similar concerns.
“With the number of deaths that we've seen on that highway and the large vehicle traffic that travels - it is important,” said Taylor.
“We don't want anybody else to die on that road so the sooner we can get a full way stop there, everybody would be happy,” he said.
Cyr said the last fatality that occurred was very tragic, “and I'm sorry for those that have lost somebody.”
He added he immediately asked for a briefing on the intersection with Alberta Transportation, right after the fatality, where three people died in a two-vehicle collision between a semi-truck and a minivan on April 16 at the intersection.
He said, that according to Alberta Transportation, “The intersection is working the way it’s supposed to be.”
Still, Cyr encouraged municipal and First Nation councils to send a formal letter to his office to officially begin regional advocacy.
“So, can I encourage you to ask the Minister of Transportation in question period how many deaths are acceptable,” asked Taylor.
“You don’t ask loaded questions like that, come on. That’s a loaded question. That is unfair,” replied Cyr.
Taylor expressed his rationale by pressing for clarity on what triggers provincial intervention.
Hypothetically, if there is one death every year at an intersection, would the province act, Taylor questioned. “If we had three more deaths, would that suddenly trigger action?”
“It’s not to hurt or insult anybody. It’s to ask, what is the threshold so that we can get educated on whether or not we’re advocating for the right intersection,” said Taylor.
Cyr said there is no threshold. “There is no acceptable number of deaths.”
“I have talked with our neighbouring [Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville] MLA Jackie Armstrong,” about the intersection, added Cyr. “We've got two MLAs that are prepared to advocate to have that intersection revisited.”
Cyr also suggested exploring other possibilities such as a traffic circle at the St. Brides intersection.
