Harbour Landing residents are asking the City to find a safe way to manage a busy roadway in the community.
The 4000 block of James Hill Road, features Harbour Landing Village, a retirement home and a playground across the street.
President and CEO of Harbour Landing Village Janson Anderson, says even with a 30 km/h limit currently in place more needs to be done.
He adds he understands the uniqueness of the situation.
“On the one side you have Harbour Landing Village which has senior citizens, a child care centre, and a group home with young adults with disabilities, so multiple vulnerable sectors,” said Anderson. “And then across the street is obviously a playground as well as a large field. So, there’s a lot of opportunity for congestion with parking on the street.”
Anderson adds despite there being two marked crosswalks at either end of the street many people don’t use them, making it hard for motorists to spot people coming from between parked cars.
He says even with the city’s help, the most effective way for people to reduce accidents is to practice safe pedestrian safety, not just on the block, but in the entire community.
“There’s a lot of people that live in Harbour Landing, and there’s a lot of young families too so obey those speed limits, but also practice good pedestrian safety as well,” said Anderson. “Including always making sure you’re looking both ways before you’re crossing the street and not peeking out from behind cars or anything like that.”
Anderson says one of the steps the complex is taking is building out their parking lot to provide safer parking spots for people using the facilities.
When asked what he would like the city to do, Anderson said he doesn’t really care, it just has to work.
“I’m open to a variety of options honestly, if it’s a deterrent like a speed camera of some kind, or it’s a lit-up crosswalk,” said Anderson. “Whatever it is, it needs to work for where we’re at with a playground on the one side, and obviously an intergenerational-senior community on the other.
The city shared a statement last week saying they are working with stakeholders in the area to address the concerns of jaywalking to find a solution that is safe and works for everyone.