Township, county considering more crosswalks in Alma

ALMA – More crosswalks may be coming to Alma. 

Alma Public School principal Erin Hamilton contacted councillor Amanda Reid on Sept. 23 with concerns about traffic speeds and student safety. 

Hamilton is requesting that council consider a crosswalk at Simpson Street East and King Street North, to increase visibility and alert motorists that they are in a school zone.

“We have observed traffic moving very quickly; during dismissal especially, that corner is very busy,” Hamilton stated in an email to Reid. 

“Anything you can do to increase visibility would help increase the safety of our students, and we would appreciate it.”

Highlighting the email during an Oct. 13 meeting, Mayor Gregg Davidson said he spoke with Wellington County engineer and roads department head Don Kudo about increased traffic in Alma and a need for crosswalks. 

“Especially since the construction that was taking place in Fergus, a lot of traffic started using County Road 7 coming through Alma, and the data actually proved it – the number of vehicles coming up has increased significantly,” Davidson said. 

The mayor noted he and Kudo specifically discussed adding a pedestrian crossover “at this location, to assist our crossing guard,” as well as at Wellington Road 17 and Nesbitt Street, “which we’ve been trying to get for many, many years.” 

Davidson said as the traffic numbers are up, it’s a good time to ask again for a crosswalk at Wellington Road 17 and Nesbitt Street – “I decided since the iron is hot, to use the poker and let’s see if we can get it this year. 

“So county staff are looking into putting in pedestrian crossovers at both those locations.”

But the two locations Davidson and Kudo discussed do not include the intersection Hamilton highlights in her email. 

“The school crossing guard is at Concession Road 1 South at Rebecca Street,” not Simpson Street East and King Street North, Reid said. 

“So it’s magnificent that we are advocating for Alma to finally get the crosswalks at Nesbitt, which we’ve been looking for since before I was even on council,” Reid said.

But she doesn’t think adding a crosswalk at Concession Road 1 South at Rebecca Street would be as impactful as one at Simpson Street East and King Street North, as Hamilton asked. 

“Thank you for that clarification,” Davidson said. “Maybe we can get three crosswalks. Never hurts to be extra safe.” 

Reid put forward a motion for staff to look into what enacting Hamilton’s request could look like, and how it would impact the township’s tax base. 

Davidson said the topic would return to the next council meeting, and Reid agreed to connect with Hamilton for further details in the meantime.