SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. — A traffic review of a busy Summerside intersection has resulted in the recommendation of new turning lanes.
The intersection of Pope Road and Greenwood Drive has been a target of frequent complaints by neighbouring residents.
Earlier this year city council approved the hiring of WSP Traffic Consultants to study the problem and make recommendations.
Those results were presented to council’s Technical Services Committee recently.
Coun. Justin Doiron, who represents that area of the city and who pushed for the traffic study, said he was pleased with the recommendation.
“I was really happy to read this. I know a lot of residents will be happy with this,” said Doiron.
They showed that, given current traffic projections, that intersection will likely require a set of traffic lights at some point in the future.
As a first step, WSP recommended adding left turning lanes to all four approaches to the intersection. The current configuration of stop signs only being on the Greenwood Drive sides of the intersections would remain.
The cost of adding the turning lanes has been estimated to be a little more than $100,000.
The idea of simply turning the intersection into a four-way stop was discounted by the consultants as they determined it would decrease overall traffic efficiency. A roundabout was also deemed to not be appropriate as those require roughly equal traffic volume in every direction and that is not currently the case at this intersection.
As for when the turning lanes will be installed, that is yet to be determined. The expense will be up for discussion by council during their upcoming budget deliberation.