On this evening, April 17th 2019, downtown Bolton residents witnessed once again, a crash at the four corners that struck fear to their hearts. A total of 3 vehicles were involved, one of which landed on the sidewalk of the southwest corner crushed between a lamp post and a building.
Visualizing the outcome, had a pedestrian been on that spot, is enough to send shivers through any compassionate human being. And for downtown residents and business owners like Jimmy Pountney this is not the first time. Nor the second. In fact not even just the third. But, he feels, it could be the last, if the right actions are taken to make the core safe for all. Tonight he shares his thoughts with Just Sayin’ Caledon…
“For over 5 years now the Town of Caledon has been working with the Region of Peel on a Bolton Master Transportation study that recognizes the lack of pedestrian safety and traffic issues through the downtown core area of Bolton. Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent on consultants, traffic cameras, public meetings, and not to mention $110 million on a by-pass, to determine that change needs to happen in order to prioritize pedestrian safety.
So why has nothing been done? Does a serious injury or a fatality need to come first before change? For myself and my family and the rest of the residents and business owners in the area we simply don’t feel safe. Businesses like our favorite ice cream shop which frequents small children and families like mine deserve to live and work in place that feels safe to walk on sidewalks and cross roads.
So my question to Caledon council is “what are you afraid of ?” Hundreds of thousands of tax dollars have been spent and experts in their field have a solution…please do something! The next one might be someone you care about.”
It’s not just the downtown core (although I believe that takes priority). The giant tiger lights are horrific. I have almost been hit there on 4 occasions, one of which a car missed my sons stroller by a hair, the other in which my younger brother, who was with me, was hurt after I had to throw him out of the way. All incidents were people turned from the Toby jug onto hwy 50 south and from highway 50 south onto Wilton drive. OPP also REALLY needs to enforce pedestrian rights. Legally, a driver must wait for a pedestrian to make it from one sidewalk and completely to the other. The majority of drivers do not do this. For instance, today at the queens gate/landsbridge light, a driver turning west onto queens gate from landsbridge not only ignored this law, but didn’t even wait for the elderly pedestrians to make it to the second lane of the walkway, to the point where the driver purposely maneuvered closer to the island just to be able to squeeze by faster. It’s pathetic. The school bored expects children of elementary status to walk from shoppers area or further all the way to Ellwood.. no crossing guards, no police enforcement. People wonder why tragedy happens. I close friend lives downtown Bolton, she has 4 children under the age of 5 and is at the queen/king lights regularly with a double stroller, 4 kids and her dog. Using the lights is the “safest” way to to cross, but going out of the way to the post office crossing has becomw a norm. How can you put off the safety of your residents? Highway 50 has also become incredibly popular to those driving through town from point a to b. Traffic continues to increase steadily, not just during rush hour but all day, even at night. It’s time to actually apply a solution. Adjusting the speed limit hasn’t actually changed anything. People still fly through that intersection and continue to speed all the way through town and for the amount of people I see on one trip from shoppers to giant tiger, or from Tim’s and back home, I never see police patrolling the speed limit. I am not slamming out OPP as I respect them very much and believe they do serve our community positively, I just believe more NEEDS to be done.
As a new outlet, this should become more of a focus. Perhaps moreso than the fence controversy. The safety of our children and the rest of our town and visitors should be a top priority, especially given the money spent thus far, it should already be dealt with.
Jim Pountney I feel your frustration and your concern. I remember when I first saw the proposal for downtown, I loved it, makes sense and would definitely hinder anyone speeding. Why council, region or whoever has ignored this all these years is very concerning. The fact there have been two recent accidents that could have resulted in loss of life should have many people asking what needs to happen for those in council to say enough now, let’s do something about it.