Prince Edward County council is putting a new pedestrian crossing in Bloomfield on hold.
At Tuesday’s meeting of Prince Edward County council, councillors voted in favour of referring the matter back to staff for further consultation, with many councillors favouring a crossing at Bloomfield Town Hall instead of the proposed location adjacent to Corey Street.
The staff report recommended that a tender be awarded to Drew Harrison Haulage Ltd. to build a Level 2, Type B crossover adjacent to Corey Street on Bloomfield Main Street.
The need for a pedestrian crossing on Bloomfield Main Street was identified after a warrant study was conducted by Jewell Engineering Inc. that found the need for pedestrian crossings on Wellington Main Street and Bloomfield Main Street.
The study was conducted after an accident on Wellington Main Street in 2017 that resulted in a death.
The study found that actual traffic lights were warranted on Bloomfield Main Street, but due to the fact that it was conducted during peak tourism and foot traffic season, it was lowered to a pedestrian crossover.
Work started quickly on Wellington Main Street, but due to the fact that Bloomfield Main Street is a connecting link, consultation with the Ministry of Transportation was necessary first.
Tuesday night Councillor Phil Prinzen quickly withdrew his support for the idea due to the fact that it would remove the temporary parking in front of the post office.
“I guess what I didn’t understand and maybe it didn’t go to BABA (Bloomfield & Area Business Association) either was, we all understood the crosswalk to be where the school crossing was, not moved over 30 feet, 40 feet, whatever it is, and not taking up the parking spots. The comment I heard from the Postmaster was our residents of Prince Edward County who use the post boxes in Bloomfield sacrifice the parking all summer long and I won’t use the exact words, but they really don’t want to do it all the time. I can’t support this design where it sits today.”
Other councillors were in agreement along with the mayor, and it was asked that staff further consider the proposed crossing in front of town hall instead.
Councillor Prinzen’s motion to refer it back to staff was put to a vote and carried.
The matter will be referred back to staff for further research and consultation.
