THE COUNTIES, Ontario - Counties Council has given a green light to completing a traffic study at a concerning section of County Road 2, with an eye to improving the sightlines on the busy thoroughfare.
At its March meeting council agreed to fund the study at the so-called 'Dead Man's Curve' section of County Road 2 near Summerstown. The curve near 18771 County Road 2 has been considered an area of concern for many years because of the number of existing residential entrances and lack of available sightlines within the curve.
In fall 2020, the Counties attended a pre-consultation meeting with Grant Marion Construction and the Township of South Glengarry to have preliminary discussions with respect to redevelopment opportunities at 18771 County Road 2. Counties' staff advised Grant-Marion that there were concerns due to the lack of available sightlines and requested that the developer complete a sightline review to establish if there was a location where safe access in accordance with existing design standards was possible. The preliminary review completed by Grant-Marion’s engineer (EVB Engineering) indicated that it was not possible to relocate the entrance to a location that would provide sufficient sightlines.
As demonstrated in the photo, there are many existing residential dwellings which enjoy access through this curve. Given that Counties' staff wish to encourage and consider all available safety options that may help to support development, the Counties is recommending partnering with Grant-Marion to further evaluate some traffic safety countermeasures that would benefit the entire area. Although it may not be possible to meet the technical requirements of existing design standards for the new entrance, the implementation of some additional safety countermeasures may provide sufficient justification/risk mitigation to allow for orderly re-development of the site and provide an overall improvement for the remaining entrances.
The Counties' contribution to the study will be half of the final cost of the review to an upset limit of $5,000.