Another place we need a traffic signal in Collingwood is at Third and High. On busy days – and there are many more of them now than ever – it’s almost impossible to turn left from Third onto High Street.
Today, for example, while I was driving around town, I found myself one of eight cars lined up waiting for the first one to turn left. Even turning right into oncoming traffic at that intersection is difficult because of the volume and speed of the traffic.
There is currently a light at the Home Depot entrance, but that only operates when cars are in the Home Depot’s entrance trying to get out. Otherwise it doesn’t slow or stop the traffic along High St.
That light was supposed to be moved south to Third once Third Street was extended through to the west (that, as I recall, also depended on the industrial property to the west of Home Depot being developed… but that’s years away). Third is supposed to become a major east-west route like Sixth Street, extending all the way to the Tenth Line sometime in the future.
However, the traffic on High Street is already busy enough to warrant a move of the signals now. Anyone who travels Third Street west can see that the traffic queuing to get onto High Street is getting out of hand.
When I am Deputy Mayor, I will ask staff to give council some options about moving that light – or even installing a separate, timed traffic signal at Third and High to alleviate this bottleneck.