Hugh Mackenzie
Huntsville Doppler
Last week, a Huntsville resident, Seungah Kim, a young mother with a full life ahead of her, was killed at the intersection of Brunel Road and High Street. It did not need to happen. To me, this intersection is potentially the most dangerous intersection in all of Muskoka. Going up Brunel Road from Main Street there is a blind spot at High Street. Turning left there is always a crap shoot because you cannot see what is coming the other way. Now the car that hit Seungah Kim was apparently coming from Main Street, so the blind spot was not directly a factor in this instance. However, at that intersection, pedestrians tend to hurry across the road because they cannot see what is coming over the hill. In addition, the intersection is poorly lit.
Brunel Road is a District Road and so our local Council has no direct jurisdiction over it. That does not make much sense to me, but that is the way it is. However, successive Huntsville Councils have been very vocal about the need to improve this intersection and it is well past time that concrete action is taken. Brunel Road and High street is a busy traffic area and the intersection is a dangerous one. We need much better lighting there, perhaps even stoplights and a crossing walk. And we need to improve visibility so that there is a clear view for drivers and pedestrians in both directions.
District needs to take action on this and Huntsville Council, especially those who are also District Councillors, need to yell and scream until they do. It should have been fixed years ago. We should not have to wait for someone to die. Just fix it.
AMERICAN POLITICAL RANT
As a political junkie, I find what is going on today in American politics fascinating. As a Canadian and an individual, I find it scary.
It is pretty clear that Americans are sick and tired of the way government has been working (or not working) in their country. The nicest thing one can say about Washington politics is that it is dysfunctional. Nothing gets done. No wonder people are angry.
And now lines have been drawn in the sand; deep lines, determined lines, and non-negotiable lines. On one extreme you have Bernie Sanders, a self-declared socialist, with a Robin Hood mentality. He almost makes Barack Obama look like a Conservative! On the other extreme you have Donald Trump, whose tactics and campaign style smacks of fascism. There appears to be no middle ground and certainly no compromise.
Sanders speaks openly about revolution, tearing down Wall Street and punishing the wealthy. Trump is all about building UP walls and making America great again by purging minority groups and exerting American power anywhere in the world he deems appropriate. He is clearly a my way or the highway type of guy. Both men are appealing to the baser instincts of people from competing ideologies, many of whom, now feel empowered to express their views with violence and extreme prejudice.
The cracks have been apparent for some time but things broke wide open last week. There was a riot in Chicago at a Trump rally when thousands of people from left wing groups, managed to shut it down. Shame on them for sure. Peaceful demonstrations are an important part of the democratic system but inciting violence and preventing free speech is not. However, the door swings both ways on that and Donald Trump shares equal responsibility for what happened in Chicago and will, no doubt, happen again.
Trump encourages violence. If he had to turn the other cheek, he wouldn’t know where to find it. Statements from a Presidential candidate, that in his day, protesters were taken out on a stretcher and failing to chastise a supporter at his Rally for sucker punching someone, simply promotes chaos. Further, using his bully pulpit to put people down who disagree with him, uttering threats, innuendos and sometimes vulgar language, is equally unacceptable. In its totality, it simply allows people to believe that bad behaviour is acceptable. A major question in the American Presidential election will be whether or not it now is.
Extremism in American politics, at both ends of the political spectrum, is becoming an issue that overflows its borders and should therefore be of concern to Canadians. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out between now and November. It is too much to hope I guess, that a more moderate Conservative such as Ohio Governor John Kasich could pull off a Hail Mary and emerge as the Republican nominee. Unfortunately however, the election campaign is showing all the signs of becoming very ugly and at this point, it is difficult to see any light at the end of the tunnel.
The answer seems to me to be fairly simple and inexpensive. Mirrors , in my opinion don’t work. You have to stare at the mirror (instead of the road) for seconds to get the proper perspective and that in itself creates another hazard. Mirrors get dirty and covered in snow.
If a single STOP sign were placed at the south east corner of Brunel and High Street, forcing all northbound cars to stop before proceeding, the left turns would not be a problem. If one were to go to a little more expense, a flashing overhead red light on Brunel northbound would further alert drivers to the hazard. No need to stop southbound on the hill which could be awkward in the winter. Those SB drivers would have free access to a left turn as NB traffic would stop.
Hugh Mackenzie, I apologize for my vulgar language, and I appreciate your concern for our local blind corners. I might not be able to articulate myself as clearly as yourself, and I may direct frustration with myself toward others instead of using this frustration to better myself. Once more, I apologize for not only my naïveté, but for my frank ignorance as well. I have faith in your opinions, ability to make positive change in our community and free exchange of ideas.
Please consider accepting my apologies
Sincerely,
Tim Reid
This is absolutely tragic.
Yes, this intersection is very dangerous. I don’t think a mirror, no matter its size, is the solution.
However, a couple of significant bumps on the road, especially coming from Main Street on Brunel might be a deterrent to potential speeders.
Failing that, maybe we should resort to turning this whole area into a pedestrian zone only. Could this be the only safe solution?
This intersection is just plain “bad”. I lost points on my drivers test way back in the 60’s as the examiner made me do a left turn off High street to go down Brunel to the Main street and it has not become any better in the years since.
To be honest I did not think that loss of life was much of a possibility here as traffic goes pretty slow and it is signed I think (not sure if it is actually signed or flashing light).
In any event it needs now to be safer as traffic goes faster and drivers pay less and less attention to what they are doing with their cars.
Suggestion. Make it so that only right turns are allowed here. Right into Brunel from High and Right onto High from Brunel, Same on other side. Could this possibly be made to work? It would eliminate all left turns and these are the dangerous ones.
A very tragic event that could have been prevented. We have been to a lot of cities that have ‘Crosswalks’, yes ‘Crosswalks’. The person pushes a button and ‘lights come on’ so that cars coming in either direction can see that the Crosswalk is in use. There have been people hit at Main & West and also at the Corner by Huntsville Public School. Both places should have Crosswalks. Just try crossing any of our streets, especially Main St. Like the person above mentioned, people are too busy texting, drinking, talking on a cell, some even speed up to make sure that you can’t walk across the street. This is such a small town that there should be no reason that we don’t have Crosswalks at vital intersections where we do not have stoplights. Now we have a death that could have been prevented. Very sad that our Town did not have the foresight that could have prevented this.
So you know, It was not the driver’s fault. It is sad that people just assume. This is sad all the way around.
I think there are several intersections that are potentially hazardous (there have been far too many collisions and near misses at Center and Main involving pedestrians). There is a pilot project happening in Vancouver I believe where they have placed a couple of yellow flags in buckets at each side of the crossing that a pedestrian can just grab and hold out for additional visibility then place into the bucket once across the intersection. If it proves to reduce accidents it may be worth pursuing.
As a senior driver who often attends All Saints Church, I frequently make a detour at that intersection, make a right turn, then a left at “The Door” to get back to All Saints, an inconvenience but a safe way. I think the mirror suggestion a good idea for a start. Thanks, Hugh,
These are two very important and timely stories that just happened to occur at the same time. We should all be able to keep them separated in our minds.
Just block off that road altogether.
I’m a young mom of 2 and walk everywhere we need to go. I have almost been hit by a car. Something needs to be done about people who drive like assholes, speeding and texting. This is not acceptable. People behind the wheel need to be taught a lesson. We need to stop letting these people off with a slap on the wrist. We need more OPP on patrol and harsher penalties for those who won’t follow the laws. Maybe then we wouldn’t have lost someone as loving and caring as Sue.
I’d suggest that the Town and District immediately
investigate the possible installation of a large parabolic mirror at that
intersection, possibly on the Al’s Taxi building (at whatever cost).
When a large enough mirror is carefully positioned, it can assist drivers and pedestrians.
These are in use on treacherous roadways where no other solution has been found.
When the Town recently closed the east side of High St. to parking during winter months,
it thereby increased the risk to folks who were forced to find parking at a greater distance from All Saints Anglican Church and Sutherland Hall. Same intersection, same danger.
The next fatal accident will likely be at the intersection of Legacy Lane, Small Street and Center St. This is another bright idea of the previous mayor and council, many of which are still sitting on their hands.
I think we can learn from Bracebridge and make use of some mirrors and more lighting as well. Bracebridge has a mirror on Taylor Road just after the train tracks so the people turning out or crossing the street from the back parking of Royal Bank/pawn shop can see what’s coming from Manitoba Street. This would be a great way to make the intersection safer without installing another set of lights. I hope this is considered at least, it seems as a difficult place to put a set of lights.
Hugh Mackenzie what is this article about?! Using recent death to speak about tangents that have nothing to do with this tragedy. What is wrong with your writing style? This is the most poorly written article I’ve read this month, and it’s not the only poorly written article I’ve read this month. I don’t blame you for writing the article. You might have had no choice but to write this, but now that you have used a recent death to poorly transition to a couple tangents I feel this article should be criticized as a bad idea for an article
Donald Trump, much like Sarah Palin, is a media godsend. They love him, and they profit off him, but in the end you will not hear much about him when the dust has settled. This was always truly Hillary Clinton’s race to lose, and let us hope Bernie can pull that off.
That is a horrible, scary intersection. Always was and will now be forever etched in my memory. A light may not have made a difference, but then again, it may have made all the difference in the world for a nine-year-old girl who will now live the rest of her life, without her mother.
I feel as a bus driver and a parent who frequently visits the arena, there should be no left hand turns from High Street down Brunel and no left hand turns from Brunel coming up the hill. This is an absolute horrible spot. There should be signs posted absolutely no crossing. Not saying people will listen but a crosswalk would not be feasible as in the winter drivers would not be able to stop on that incline. Every day while driving in that area I see possible accidents that may occur because of the blind spots.