Rocky View County Council met to discuss and vote on a proposed speed limit change to a nearly three kilometre section of Highway 560, from east of Range Road 285, to east of Range Road 283, near Langdon, during its Oct. 3 council meeting.
The change would bring down the maximum speed of that stretch of road from 100 to 80 kilometers per hour.
According to documents provided by the County, that intersection has experienced several accidents involving both commercial and commuter motorists over the years, including one fatal accident. A safety review was completed by the Alberta Department of Transportation in March of this year and one of the recommendations from the review, that doesn’t involve a construction project that would change the infrastructure of the road itself, was to implement a decrease in the posted speed limit. Currently, the speed is posted at 100 kilometers per hour, with the Transportation Department’s recommendation it would fall to 80 kilometers per hour.
In March, the Transportation Department retained the firm ISL Engineering Services to conduct a safety and operational review of the intersection in question. ISL’s final report, titled ‘Highway 560 and Range Road 283 Safety and Operational Review’, presented a list of findings and recommendations for the country to potentially implement. The first three listed findings describe recommendations for optimized safety by replacing the stop signs already present with oversized signs, installing rumble strips, and relocating the painted stop line, although it doesn’t say where it would be relocated to.
Finding four recommends the installation of a flashing red beacon on the stop signs. Finding five suggests the pavement markings along the intersection be refreshed, six prescribed a speed reduction through the intersection, and seven and eight call for an investigation into the feasibility of putting up light signals and the construction of a roundabout.
Findings one, three, four, and five were implemented by the Transportation Department in July, finding two has yet to be implemented, and seven and eight are being evaluated by the Transportation Department and will be discussed by the County at a later date.
Finding six required County support to implement, and on Oct. 3, the council voted unanimously in support of the proposed speed limit change.
“It is a dangerous intersection,” said Division 6 Coun. and Deputy Reeve Sunny Samra in his remarks before the unanimous vote. “Eventually everyone wants a signalized intersection. Right steps, slow and steady but we’re eventually getting there.”
“I would take safety over saving a couple seconds any day,” he said.
