City councillor calls for traffic-calming measures at crash-prone West End intersection

Dozens of collisions at a problem intersection have prompted a city councillor to take action to keep drivers and local businesses safe from future incidents.

Coun. Cindy Gilroy is asking the city to consider install traffic-calming measures and barriers in front of Goodies Bakeshop at Ellice Avenue and Erin Street — the site of more than 70 collisions since 2020.

Drivers going the wrong way down Erin’s one-way street, speeders hoping to sail through yellow lights and heavy traffic volumes all contribute to multiple accidents every year, Goodies Bake Shop part-owner and operations manager Linda Peters said.

“It’s a cursed intersection,” she said.

Gilroy (Daniel McIntyre) submitted a motion for next week’s city centre community committee requesting the public service and public works committee look at red-light and speed cameras, larger one-way signage and a boulevard or barrier to better protect the corner of the pedestrian crossing and corner of Goodies.

Peters has been advocating for changes to the intersection for eight years; she says, on average, her building is damaged by vehicles twice each year and she’s stopped making insurance claims to prevent her premiums from skyrocketing.

In January, a pickup truck and sedan collided at the intersection, causing the car to jump the curb and slam into a light standard on the southwest corner of the West End business.

“There is a heavy amount of traffic that comes through here… it’s just bad drivers that cause a lot of accidents,” Peters said.

According to the city’s 2023 traffic flow map, the intersection sees, on average, 8,500 drivers pass through the intersection on Erin Street daily. Going westbound on Ellice, upwards of 15,700 drivers travel through the intersection daily.

Peters says the proposed additions would not only protect her building, but the people inside it.

In one incident at Goodies, a car came barrelling through the intersection and slid into the side of the building that houses the office. Luckily, no one was there at the time.

“If that were to happen again, then we would definitely have casualties,” Peters said. “If one of my employees or my customers gets hurt, that will be (civic officials’) fault for not addressing this concern.”

On Erin Street, Russell Hendrix Restaurant Equipment & Foodservice Supplies employee Robert Thieme says he is in support of the proposal after a semi-truck collided with his warehouse in 2020.

No one in the warehouse was hurt, but two women in another vehicle were hospitalized.

“I’ve been here 13 years now… there’s been so many accidents I can’t even count,” Thieme said.

Data provided by Manitoba Public Insurance in January showed there have been 72 collisions reported in the intersection over the past five years.

The Winnipeg intersection with the most collisions during that period was Leila Avenue and McPhillips Street, at 659 crashes, MPI said at the time.

The city reviewed the Erin and Ellice intersection in 2021, resulting in several safety improvements, including lowered traffic signals to improve visibility, reduced lane widths (a design feature shown to reduce vehicle speeds) and increased boulevard space surrounding Goodies to improve pedestrian safety.

Peters acknowledged there has been some positive change in the area, but remains committed to advocating for more improvements.

Thieme said he thinks a photo-radar camera would slow down speeders in the area.

City spokesperson Julie Dooley said the city is reviewing the speed limit in the area, as part of a larger study throughout Winnipeg.

Coun. Janice Lukes, chairwoman of the public works committee, said she supports the motion but wants to see the root cause of dangerous driving addressed.

Council has been in contact with both the current and previous provincial governments asking for a review of photo radar technology, including updated cameras able to detect drivers using handheld devices, Lukes said.

“Cities all over the world are doing it. We’ve got a very outdated system here,” she said.

An emailed statement from Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Lisa Naylor said the province is working with the city and other municipalities to make roads safer.

Meantime, Gilroy is also asking the city to consider installing traffic signals near Ethelbert Street and Westminster Avenue to enhance pedestrian safety, as there has been an increase in traffic volume in the Wolseley neighbourhood.

The Montessori school on Ethelbert Street and daycare on Arlington Street and the pedestrian traffic they attract should be taken into consideration, Gilroy’s motion says.

She was unavailable for comment Tuesday.

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca