This article was published previously on CambridgeToday.
A neighbourhood effort to get an all-way stop at a troubled intersection in west Galt appears to have paid off.
Pending council approval of a recommendation from staff, residents in the area of Salisbury Avenue and Hardcastle Drive will see stop signs on all four corners next month.
The change comes nearly a year after residents banded together to ask the city for the safety measure and nearly six years after the intersection's original four-way stop was removed.
They were removed, the city says, because the developer of the subdivision made it an all-way stop "in error." Stop signs aren't recommended as a way to control speed because they can lead to accidents when they're ignored, staff said at the time.
Residents demanded the city keep the stop signs in place back then, but were told that traffic counts weren't high enough.
In 2022, residents petitioned the city to put them back in, but city council sided with staff and disagreed with the request.
Now those feelings appear to have changed after a traffic safety audit was conducted last year.
Ward 5 Coun. Sheri Roberts took to social media last week to announce the intersection would be getting an all-way stop.
"The assessment of this intersection confirmed that an all-way stop is warranted," Roberts confirmed in an email.
"I’m grateful to the residents who raised this concern with me and city staff, highlighting the need for improved safety," she said.
"Community input is invaluable, and I encourage residents to reach out to their councillors with any municipal concerns," Roberts added. "Thank you to everyone who advocated for this change and to staff for their efforts in finding a solution to enhance safety at this location."
Teri Pfohl led the effort to get the city to re-examine the intersection last April, noting how many families with young children live in the surrounding subdivision.
She reached out to CambridgeToday after an accident involving a school bus terrified parents who regularly have to wave at motorists to slow down while waiting with their kids.
For years they'd been concerned street parking, blind corners, poor sightlines and speed were making the intersection a hazard for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians.
After learning the all-way stop is likely coming back, Pfohl said she and the rest of the community are "very happy."
But she feels the problem should have been apparent to city staff much sooner.
"I get that a lot of people complain about things in their neighborhood, but in the past 5 years there is such a huge increase with traffic in our city that they should be really looking at improving the safety for pedestrians when people voice their concerns," she said.
"Can you imagine what it takes for even more serious areas within the city if people are not complaining loudly or have a councilor’s support backing them?" she said.
"It is a shame that we had to fight so hard for this and I feel like it was the support of Sheri Roberts who got this looked at more seriously," she wrote.
"Without her help it would have taken a lot more noise from us for a longer period and who knows how much fight we had left in us."