Saint Andrews Council has received some feedback about changes it wishes to make to its traffic bylaws, which serve to make certain areas safer.
About twenty residents attended the open house, according to senior administrator and clerk Paul Nopper.
A point of concern for some residents was not making Harriet Street and Reed Avenue a four-way stop. The council has spoken at length about the trickiness of that intersection, including during peak tourism season.
“There was concern from staff about how much traffic could be backed up going down Harriet in the summer toward the gas station if you make it a four-way stop,” Nopper said.
A four-way stop is an option within the transportation master plan, should the council choose that option.
Mayor Brad Henderson said the council had discussed that a four-way stop didn’t make much sense given the concerns expressed about traffic backup and potential accidents due to the traffic changes.
A line through the intersection, showing the flow of traffic, has been proposed.
Other concerns included construction trailers and commercial vehicles being marked off when they are downtown using pylons.
Some asked for a permitting process for protected parking spaces in the event they need to leave the space for any number of reasons.
“A little more difficult in that we don’t have any mechanism to control our blocked parking spots,” he said.
Lowering the speed limit
The council did receive a lot of feedback about lowering the speed limit from 50 kilometres an hour to 40, according to Nopper.
“Residents did have concern that, although you are reducing the speed limit, is it going to reduce speeds in town,” Nopper explained to council. “There were concerns about enforcement and capabilities of enforcement.”
Some suggested enforcement rather than lowering the speed limit should be looked at further, he said during the meeting.
Henderson said during the meeting he does agree that enforcement is likely the issue.
“Enforcement is an issue, but the 50 kilometres an hour also is and based on the data we received from when we put up the speed sign,” he said.
It also clarified concerns about ride-sharing, like carpooling, but Nopper said regulation would apply to for-profit ride-sharing like Uber, Kari Ride Share, or URide.
Camping in non-designated areas
The council heard a lot of complaints about people camping in areas where it was not designated.
“There are a number of residents who feel that more needs to be done because it seems to be growing,” Henderson said.
There are no current limits on parking in the downtown streets, parking lots or parks with RV campers within the bylaw.
Henderson said a 24-hour notice could offer a solution, but it is a balance.
“Because sometimes the campgrounds are full and if you say nothing at all, then you’re telling people to leave your community,” he said during the meeting.
Coun. Darrell Weare suggested it could be tricky to give them notification, but also suggested that the notice should be lowered to 12-hours notice.
The council is hoping there could be alternative areas for people to park overnight, which could provide alternatives to the downtown streets and parks.
Coun. Mark Bennett said there has definitely been a difference in the number of people camping overnight in the downtown over the last couple of summers.
“If people in the community know of our good nature, we allow you to sleep at night in town, then I don’t think our situation will improve, I think we’ll just continue to see more and more campers,” he said. “If you allow any amount of it, I think it’ll just continue to get worse and worse.”
He said the community has spoken that they do not want to see camping in the downtown core.
Coun. Kurt Gumushel also agreed that there needs to be limits, adding enforcement is going to be tricky.
“People coming to town in those class B campers are spending money,” he said. “But enforcement is very tricky.”
He said he thinks it might be too difficult to enforce, but also not welcoming to in a town with a tourism-based economy.
The council is hoping to find a balance in order to protect year-round residents, but also people trying to visit and spend time here.
Nopper also explained there were concerns about large RV campers blocking intersections and sight lines primarily on Water Street and Queen Street.
Chief Administrative Officer Chris Spear also explained there is limited space within the Town of Saint Andrews plat that an RV would fit comfortably, further limiting the options.
Coun. Annette Harland said this is a difficult situation.
“We continually, as a council, have to balance the needs of our full-time residents with the needs of our tourists, which we value,” she said. “However, I have heard a lot about this issue, particularly from the senior population.”
Coun. Marc Blanchard also suggested the council explore some sort of dedicated RV parking.
“I wouldn’t want to push out people who are bringing in the RV and the campers,” he said during the meeting.
Staff will take guidance from council to amend the bylaw before it comes back to the council for three separate readings and a final vote.
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