It’s been more than two years in the making, but construction to improve traffic and pedestrian safety at Huntsville High School (HHS) has begun.
Huntsville’s Youth Council highlighted the need for improved pedestrian and motorist safety at Huntsville High School and the Canada Summit Centre (CSC) in March 2015. Council directed staff to investigate parking lot lighting, the high school’s student drop off and pick up area, pedestrian safety, the school bus waiting area and traffic flow, sight lines, and the safety of turning onto Brunel Road from Park Drive.
Following a traffic review in 2016, Town staff presented a recommendation to Huntsville’s General Committee in January 2017 but were sent back to address features councillors felt were missing in the proposed plan. Those changes were accepted by committee in May. The contract was awarded to Fowler Construction following an RFP process in which they were the only bidder.
The company bid $158,329 for the project, which was significantly higher than the Town’s initial estimate of approximately $75,000. As a result, the Town scaled back the scope of the project with plans to complete tasks like clearing vegetation to improve sightlines with its own staff, said Steve Hernen, the Town’s Director of Operations and Protective Services. The awarded contract was for $86,000.
The lower parking lot to the north of the high school has been hemmed in by pedestrian islands and a sidewalk to leave just one entrance to the lot – it formerly had four – and provide an area for people to walk off the roadway. The number of parking spaces in that lot have been decreased from 74 to 72. A crosswalk and sidewalk from the northeast corner of the school to Oliver’s Coffee shop has been added; flashing pedestrian lights and a speed bump are pending at that location.
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- Pedestrian islands will both control traffic flow and provide a safe location for people to walk
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- A sidewalk leads from the parking lot to a crosswalk next to the school. Previously, students had to walk on the road.
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- This entrance to the lot, nearest Brunel Road, has been replaced by a curb
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- Only one entrance to the lot remains, across from Camp Kitchen Road
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- A new sidewalk leads from a crosswalk to Oliver’s Coffee shop
In the parking lot to the southeast of HHS (Parking “C” on the map below), parking will be prohibited along its western edge from 8:00-9:00 a.m. and 3:00-4:30 p.m. to create a designated drop-off and pick-up zone for students and teachers. See the full plan below.
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