Waterloo reviews most collision-prone areas to improve safety

Recommendations for unsafe Waterloo roads A new report has identified the most crash-prone roads in Waterloo. Colton Wiens finds out what the city is doing about them.

The City of Waterloo is trying to make its roads safer by putting together a report on some of the locations with the most crashes in the past five years.

In February, council approved plans to conduct an annual report to examine Traffic Calming Policy and Road Safety Countermeasures and to find ways to update and enhance the city’s road safety.

According to the report, there was a total of 2,837 crashes on city roads in the past five years. 66 of those involved pedestrians being hit, including one fatal crash in 2019, as well as 53 crashes with cyclists.

In the five years studied, the number of crashes peaked in 2019, with a total of 725 recorded incident. However, the number of crashes dropped during the pandemic as more drivers were working from home and people were generally travelling less. A total of 517 crashes were recorded in 2022, dropping to 424 last year.

Staff used collision records to put together the top locations in need of calming measures. The report tries to determine factors contributing to crashes and determine countermeasures that have proven most effective for each scenario.

The report was presented to council at a meeting on Monday.

"It is critical that we monitor our progress and adjust our plan as needed in order to drive it forward in the right direction, toward zero injuries and deaths," Bob Henderson, director of Transportation Services for the City of Waterloo said.

Staff recommend council receive the report and update the Traffic and Parking bylaw to match the recommended changes. Council approved the recommendation.

Top 10 Overall Collision Locations

Top 10 Pedestrian Collision Locations

Top 10 Cyclist Collision Locations

Staff have supplied recommendations for each location.

"While it may rank differently for different users, what we'll be doing is in the implementation, looking at say Philips St., all the implementation happening at once. It's to reduce the disruption in the neighbourhood, make sure we're having a wholesome implementation, and so that once they're installed, we can start doing some evaluation to see how it's working," Jenny Renaud, manager of transportion for the City of Waterloo said.

For Columbia Street at Phillip Street, staff said turning and rear-end collisions are the most common crash types. It is recommended the city request the Region of Waterloo consider fully protected turn signal phasing, which would require median islands to be installed and for the region to review signal coordination to reduce congestion.

At Regina Street at Lodge Street, pedestrians hit in dark conditions are the most common type of crash. Staff suggest enhancing sight lines, restricting parking near the intersection along Lodge St. and reviewing street and pedestrian lighting.

Phillip Street between University Avenue West and Columbia Street West was identified as the top location for collisions involving cyclists, due to distracted driving while turning, cyclists on the wrong side of the road and cyclists losing control. Staff recommend additional signage, installing high visibility pavement markings, instituting a 40 km/h speed limit and reviewing the lighting in the area.

Reducing speeds

The city also analyzed speeds on local roads last year, recommending calming measures on three sections of road. The top location being Bluevale Street North between Harvard Road and Mayfield Avenue where the average driver is going 13 km/h over the posted limit of 40 km/h. The report said 85 per cent of drivers go 56 km/h or lower in the area.

The report did not include City of Waterloo streets that intersect with Region of Waterloo streets, as they fall under the responsibility of the region and are captured in their respective road safety program.

According to staff, some of the improvements are already underway and will be finished throughout the year. Others need bylaw changes first. Staff have also sent information to the Region of Waterloo for its roads that intersect with the identified crash sites.