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w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, N ov em be r 15 ,2 01 8 | 6 CAMBRIDGE 90 Main Street cornerstonefurniture.ca 519.740.9991 /CornerstoneHome /cornerstonehomeinteriors We stock more sofas than any store in Ontario. Be amazed! CORNERSTONE'S BLACK FRIDAY SALE From November 7th to December 7th enjoy store-wide deals on all in-stock cabinets, sofas, dining tables, chairs and our Woven collection. WATERLOO - Instead of relocating a pedestrian crossing on Bridgeport Road in Waterloo, a second one will be added nearby. The City of Waterloo re- quested that the region consider relocating the pe- destrian signal from its current location at Bridge- port and Peppler Street to a new spot about 105 me- tres to the east where the Laurel Creek Trail crosses Bridgeport, nothing that more pedestrians and cy- clists cross there. However, concerned residents in the neigh- bourhood urged the region to keep the Peppler pedes- trian signal where they preferred to cross busy Bridgeport, many of them going to a nearby school or child care centre. Waterloo Mayor Dave Jaworsky put forward a motion that passed unani- mously at a Tuesday re- gional council committee meeting to keep the cur- rent signal and add anoth- er at the trail. "It's going to cost us an extra $15,000 to remove a crossing light that obvi- ously you can see citizens want," Jaworsky said. Relocating the pedestri- an signal would cost $60,000, including removal of the original pedestrian signal. Separated bike lanes are being considered along Bridgeport, and the pedes- trian crossings can be looked at again then. Coun. Tom Galloway, chair of the planning and works committee, said the crossings will be moni- tored for safety. "Active transportation is an issue that we need to give more priority to and this is certainly an exam- ple of that," Galloway said. "On the other hand, we have to make sure that it's not an unsafe condition as well so we need to monitor it." Regional staff recom- mended relocating the crossing due to safety con- cerns about closely spaced traffic signals and drivers running the red light, which is triggered by someone wanting to cross. The guideline is to have crossings at least 200 me- tres apart. Several delegations spoke at the Tuesday meet- ing, focused on the safety of the proposed new signal. Anne Crowe, chair of the City of Waterloo active transportation advisory committee, said crossing at Laurel Trail is challeng- ing because it's close to a bend on the busy road that limits visibility for pedes- trians and cyclists. At Peppler, she said, "it's still challenging be- cause there's limited breaks in the traffic, but at least you can see what's coming at you." Stephen Herzog lives nearby and urged council to look at the whole section of Bridgeport between We- ber and Moore, saying the proposed crossing was un- safe because of the fast- moving traffic and bend in the road. "My concern is the driv- ers won't see the lights," Herzog said. "Trail users will have a false sense of security." Coun. Geoff Lorentz suggested switching that section of Bridgeport from a one-way street to two ways to slow traffic, which was successful in down- town Kitchener. "It's been an amazing change," Lorentz said. Councillors also decid- ed Tuesday to go ahead with road improvements to downtown Elmira. The project covers a just under a kilometre stretch of Church Street, from around Spruce Lane to Arthur Street, to ad- dress the deteriorating road condition, add or re- place infrastructure and add active transportation facilities. It includes removing street parking to add left turn lanes. A business owner on the street object- ed to the plan, saying the loss of parking would ad- versely affect downtown businesses while only modestly easing traffic congestion through the town's core. jweidner@there- cord.com Twitter: @WeidnerRe- cord REGION TO INSTALL SECOND PEDESTRIAN CROSSING FOR BRIDGEPORT JOHANNA WEIDNER jweidner@therecord.com LOCAL We're there When neWs happens in your community. FIND BREAKING NEWS DAILY AT WATERLOOCHRONICLE.CA