Newmarket resident Mary Kennette is disturbed by the sound of vehicles at the intersection of William Roe Boulevard and Dixon Boulevard every day.
The screeching tires and honking horns, as well as the collisions she has seen while living at the corner indicate the need for significant action, she said.
But despite petitions and years of advocacy, she and other residents on the street feel the town has not done enough to address the problem.
“For 25 years, it’s gotten progressively worse as Newmarket gets bigger,” Kennette said. “Our biggest fear is somebody is going to get seriously injured or killed.”
The intersection is sloped downhill in both directions, with a two-way stop on Dixon, but not on William Roe, which gets traffic from Yonge Street.
The town investigated but found the streets did not have the traffic patterns required for major calming measures, but it did add bollards and line painting last summer.
Sandy Morton has a window overlooking the intersection. She said the bollards helped to some degree, but drivers from the area can still get through them with speed. The measures were also temporary and have since been removed.
“Every day, I sit here all the time with my coffee,” she said. “Squealing of tires, honking of horns. When the windows are open, you can hear cussing.”
She added she would like to see a four-way stop implemented at the intersection.
But municipal staff reports from last February and June said the speeds through the area did not warrant additional traffic calming. Staff said drivers likely diverted to the area to avoid delays during 2020 construction on Yonge, but the average daily traffic counts appear to be decreasing.
Along Dixon, the average traffic was 868 in 2021, down from 1,285 in 2019. Average speeds on both Dixon and William Roe were 42 km/h in 2021, slightly above the speed limit but “still under acceptable policy levels.”
“The town previously found that the speeds measured in 2020 are lower than measured in previous years and are consistent with, and slightly lower than, other collector roads in Newmarket,” engineering services director Rachel Prudhomme said. “Because of these findings, these speeds do not fall into the category where traffic calming measures should be applied.”
But she added the municipality is evaluating the results of the bollards and line painting in the area, which she said have had success elsewhere in town.
Area resident Linda Pearson said she did not think those measures had achieved much, with accidents still happening.
“People who live here, it’s almost a daily occurrence of somebody having a close call. I think that should be enough,” she said.
Residents in the area gathered a petition with more than 160 signatures to address the issue three years ago. But despite the community outrage, some are becoming weary.
“You only want to fight city hall for so long, because I have a life,” Dixon Boulevard resident Les Kerr said. “Life goes on. We’ve seen a lot.”
Kennette questions if installing a four-way stop would be safe during the winter due to the slopes of the roads, adding a "dangerous intersection ahead" sign, at the least, would be helpful.
She expressed frustration that their protests not garnering further action from the town.
“Every time we do it, nothing seems to take place. We don’t get any affirmative answers,” she said. “We get excuses and reasons why nothing can be done.”
