It took some doing. But now the traffic signage at 77th Street and 27th Avenue in Coleman will finally conform to safety guidelines with council’s decision to install yield signs.

The incident started during a signage review of the Pine View Park playground, it was observed that the intersection traffic controls at 77th Street and 27th Avenue in Coleman did not meet the Transportation Association of Canada’s (TAC) Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Canada (MUTCDC) guidelines because the site only had a stop sign for westbound traffic but the guidelines state there had to be controls for south and eastbound traffic.

A stop sign wasplaced to control the southbound lane of 77th Street.
Council received several complaints from residents who asked that the new sign be removed.

Administration hired ISL Engineering and Land Services Ltd. to do a report on the issue. The report cost approximately $1,400 and made a number of recommendations including keeping the stop sign at the new location or installing three yield signs at the intersection.

At a meeting on Nov. 3, councillors Bill Kovach, Dave Filipuzzi and Dean Ward said council never asked administration to commission the report and criticized Patrick Thomas, director of Planning, Engineering and Operations for wasting taxpayers’ money.

Then Fire Chief/manager of Protective Services Steve Debienne and the RCMP Detachment sergeant assessed the intersection. Both agreed that the new stop sign was appropriate and should not be moved back to its former location.

“They felt that if we put the stop sign back where it was, it could cause a liability to the municipality,” said Councillor Marlene Anctil. “They recommended leaving the stop sign where it is or go with all the way yield control.”

Patrick Thomas, director of Planning, Engineering and Operations, took matters into his own hands. He and his staff did multiple drives through the intersection before, during and after recent snowstorms both post clearing and a few days after sanding.

“I have experienced no issues with stopping and neither has my staff,” he said.

On Nov. 24, after a short discussion councillor Bill Kovach made a motion to put the sign back where it had been quietly directing traffic for many years.

“It’s pretty obvious where the stop sign was before was probably the safest place to have it,” he said.

The motion was defeated.

Councillor Marlene Anctil made a motion go with yield signs, which passed.

Councillor Dean Ward is worried this signage issue might have opened a can of worms regarding other possible signs in the community that do not adhere to TAC or MUTCDC guidelines.

“I’m really concerned because it seems to me that at a time when we should be focusing on our budget and stuff like that, there’s been a lot of time and effort that’s gone into this process,” he said.

Thomas said the municipality is ultimately responsible for traffic safety in the community and that other offending signs, if they exist, would also have to be dealt with.

“We are responsible for the accuracy of all signs placed,” he said. “We are the authority responsible for signage and therefore if there was an issue raised, we would be correcting it.”