Residents got exactly what they wanted on Monday night as city council approved a full traffic light at the busy intersection of Kincaid Street and Smith Avenue.
Councillors voted in favour of the traffic signal at the Burnaby council meeting on Sept. 8, less than a week after the proposal was presented to the traffic and safety committee. The push for a signal at Kincaid Street and Smith Avenue began on June 30 when local resident Jim Favaro witnessed his neighbour Manjinger Bhangu get hit by a passing car while crossing the street.
Fed up with the dangerous intersection and repeated near misses, Favaro started a petition to ask city hall to install a full traffic signal at Kincaid and Smith. More than 160 people signed the petition, all of whom shared Favaro’s concern for pedestrian safety in the intersection.
After submitting the petition to city hall, Favaro and Bhangu presented the traffic light proposal to the traffic and safety committee on Sept. 2. In the presentation, Favaro cited several factors as contributing to the increase in traffic in the area, including residential growth, increased traffic to nearby businesses and the continued use of the intersection by ambulances coming and going from Burnaby Hospital.
The presentation, it seems, had the effect Favaro intended because the proposal was added to the Sept. 8 council agenda three days after his committee presentation.
The traffic light at Kincaid Street and Smith Avenue is expected to cost about $230,000 and will be included in the 2015 budget.
“Our only hope was this could happen before the kids get back to school but he mentioned that all the funds were allocated for this year and we respect that,” Favaro told the NOWfollowing the traffic and safety committee last week. “One doesn't just snap a finger and a light goes up, there's a process. You've got to do it right.”
