Council to make Dunns Hill intersection changes permanent

By Mark Squibb / July 14, 2023

Conception Bay South council this week unanimously approved a motion to permanently forbid left-hand turns and through traffic at the Dunns Hill Road and Route 60 intersection, but despite the unanimous approval, there was some hesitancy on the part of several councilors to approve the changes.

Last summer, the Town initiated the changes on a temporary basis following complaints collected through an Integrated Transportation Study that left-turning and sight distances at the location were unsafe. 

Following the changes, the Town launched an online survey from which it received over 800 responses – the highest survey participation rate to date, according to councillor Melissa Harding, who said the opinions of residents were mixed.

Harding brought forward the recommendation to make permanent the changes, and added that council would be reviewing road infrastructure in the area that has been impacted by the traffic flow changes.

“I really struggled with this one,” admitted Deputy Mayor Andrea Gosse. “I live in the neighbourhood, and I’ve heard from a lot of residents in the area. I understand with and I agree with the traffic consultant and the information they provided. Yes, the intersection of Route 60 and Dunns Hill Road is definitely safer because of this, but my concern is the traffic we’re driving to Greeleytown Road and All Saints Road, which really need upgrades to accommodate the amount of traffic. But, based on the commitment from council to look at future roads to accommodate the traffic and look at some connectivity, we’ve talked about connecting Marions Garden to Rideout Road which would give people another option, and so these are things that we can’t do overnight, but they’re certainly things that are going to be on our radar for future development.”

Councillor Gerard Tilley wondered whether council wasn’t just moving a problem from one street to the next.

“We realize that we’re going to have to do some upgrades to All Saints and Greeleytown,” said Tilley. “But I do want to point out to folks that it’s not going to happen overnight. But the key thing is that speed limits, stop signs, and other traffic calming measures are in place on these streets for a reason. If you go the posted speed limits, things should be fine.”

Tilley asked drivers to be extra mindful in the summertime, when the All Saints field is full of kids playing softball.

Councillor Joshua Barrett also had some misgivings.

“I think that how many of us are speaking to this just goes to show how much thought we’ve put into this as well,” said Barrett. “But as councillor Harding and Deputy Mayor Gosse mentioned, we can track prior to the pilot project compared to now, and our traffic consultants have indicated that it is a safer intersection now, and the upgrades that my council colleagues have mentioned on those other roads gives me more peace with this and makes me supportive of this.”

Mayor Darrin Bent had the final word before the matter was put to a vote.

“At the end of the day, the consultants came back and said, ‘This is safer,’ and that’s really the bottom line at the end of the day,” said Bent. “The truth is, there’s no perfect solution to some of these winding problems we have with some of the roads around, but if we can do anything to make them safer, that’s what we will do.”

The results of the public survey and traffic assessment survey will be made available to residents in the near future.