ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — The Telegram filed an access to information request with the city for all complaints filed via calls to 311 or via the 311 St. John’s app regarding Rawlins Cross from Jan. 2017 to Nov. 8, 2019.
Complaints about the intersection prior to the roundabout pilot project dealt mostly with issues with parking metres, slippery road conditions or potholes.
After the pilot project was implemented on August 30, 2018, the complaints were dominated mostly with safety concerns.
A total of 44 complaints about the safety of Rawlins Cross have been received by 311 since it was implemented. In the same timeframe, there were a total of six compliments from people who like the configuration.
Nine of the complaints worried someone will be killed in the roundabout.
This access request only captured 311 complaints; not emails to city councillors, or other methods of lodging a complaint with the city.
What follows is a summary of some of the concerns.
2018
Sept. 7: At the crosswalk on the top of Prescott Street, a caller said three people “nearly got smoked.”
Sept. 21: The caller said she had an accident this week at the roundabout, and was pushed into the back of a car near the crosswalk of Monkstown Road.
She “came around the corner from Queen’s Road into the circle and (a) cab driving (on) Military Road turning right did not yield, and when she tried to avoid him she smacked into the rear of a car proceeding towards Monkstown.”
Other notes on the call indicate her vehicle was wrote off.
That same day, another caller said she saw a woman on a crosswalk trying to cross, and nobody would stop for her, so the caller parked by Stella’s Circle to help. The caller said when she got out to try to cross the crosswalk, she was nearly hit by an orange taxi.
Sept. 27: A call about a near miss for a pedestrian who said the driver didn’t see her because the driver was looking right for traffic, and she was on the crosswalk to the driver’s left.
Oct. 1: “This is now a much more dangerous intersection than ever before,” the person wrote. “Driving through just yesterday a car sped out in front of me from the Monkstown Road entrance, causing me to brake hard, and immediately behind it another car ran the yield as well, almost hitting the side of me before veering around me and continuing on...
“On Saturday, while stopped at a crosswalk waiting for someone to cross, a van drove right on through the crosswalk in front of her.
“I drive slowly through each time, but I have to note that it is very difficult to pay attention to the start of the crosswalks inside the circle when you are trying to drive defensively to avoid hitting the drivers who can’t stop at a yield.”
Oct. 2: A caller said they have nearly been hit three times.
Oct. 19: Caller said they have had two near misses since the pilot project was installed.
Nov. 1: Caller said they’ve experienced near misses as a pedestrian and saw others while driving.
Nov. 2: “Walking through Rawlins Cross has now become dangerous. Drivers are either going through too quickly to stop for pedestrians or they just flat out will not stop for pedestrians. I have a close encounter with a vehicle every single time I go through this intersection.”
Dec. 19: A written complaint stating a child was narrowly missed by an oncoming vehicle.
2019
Feb. 27: A caller said she “nearly gets taken out at least once a day from people who are stopping to let other people in – she said even pedestrians are almost getting mowed down”. She said she uses the roundabout twice a day five times a week.
She also said she experiences more of a delay since the reconfiguration, and has witnessed more near misses.
March 28: The writer notes “repeated and regular incidents of being passed over by multiple cars who are not looking or aware of us, and even of being cut off while in the MIDDLE of a crosswalk, where we were clearly visible!”
The resident goes on to say the roundabout is not typical.
“Roundabouts don’t typically have crosswalks throughout their centre, let alone upwards of a dozen, some crossing two or three lanes of traffic, with vehicles entering at multiple points of entry at very small intervals, and many areas with no clear lines of sight for drivers.”
May 7: A caller said he likes the roundabout, but is concerned for the safety of himself and other pedestrians.
“When crossing the first car stops, but when the pedestrian walks out past the next car, there is somebody flying by on the other lane. This happens almost 3 or 4 times a week. The outside driver is totally oblivious to the pedestrian. Somebody is going to get killed.”
June 17: A caller reports witnessing two accidents this week.
July 16: A caller said they have been rear ended in the area twice in recent weeks “because no one understands who is supposed to yield and when.”
July 17: “Intersection is extremely dangerous, customers are afraid to come to shop because they do not want to use intersection. Multiple near accidents witnessed in area, caller says someone is going to get killed in intersection.”
August 2: “Caller stated she saw a young lady with a stroller attempt to cross the road near the roundabout and she was almost struck. Caller stated it did appear safe when she stepped onto the crosswalk but two cars came flying through and didn’t stop, the girl had to pull the stroller back.”
August 13: A caller reported almost getting hit three times today, and also witnessed a near miss of a child getting hit.
Aug. 29: A caller said she witnessed a city truck almost hit a pedestrian. The caller supplied the truck number. She said “it was going very fast and not using any signal lights”.
Notes on this complaint indicate staff spoke with someone - this part is redacted - about the incident.
Sept. 4: Notes from the call say the caller went to use a crosswalk “and nearly got killed”. Details say the caller experienced near misses on the crosswalks near Hungry Heart Cafe and Moo Moos Icecream.
Sept. 6: The caller travels on the roundabout four or five times a day, and almost every day “almost hits somebody on a crosswalk” because you can’t see pedestrians “and other drivers are flying around.”
Council has ‘some concerns’
At the regular meeting of city council on Oct. 15 of this year, council voted to install crosswalk lights on Monkstown Road and King’s Road. The decision note indicated those were the areas “of highest concern”.
After that meeting, then transportation lead Coun. Debbie Hanlon told reporters: “The impetus was not because it was dangerous, it was because from the … information we got from the public, and from our own studies, we felt that it would make the area safer.”
Current transportation lead Coun. Sandy Hickman previously told The Telegram the goal is to have the crosswalk lights installed before Christmas.
At the end of October, Hickman also said council has received “some concerns” about pedestrian safety at Rawlins Cross.
At that time, he said the city believes safety has improved at Rawlins Cross with the pilot project, but they are always looking at ways to improve it further.
He said the earliest a permanent layout will be decided for Rawlins Cross would be next summer because the city is waiting to see if there will be any changes to traffic and pedestrian patterns, and they are waiting on collision statistics from the province.
Twitter: @juanitamercer_
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