Yellowknife will ‘take a look’ at banning some right turns on red

Yellowknife’s mayor says right turns on red lights may be banned in at least one intersection after recent collisions involving children.

Two children were struck by drivers in the same week of June, Cabin Radio reported earlier this month.

Following one of those incidents, a father of an injured child said right turns on red lights were particularly dangerous at some city intersections.

On Monday, Mayor Rebecca Alty told Cabin Radio the city had received a formal request for right turns on red to be banned at the intersection of Gitzel Street and Franklin Avenue, where one of the two children had been hit.

“What we’ll do is take a look at the standards to see if it does warrant a no-rights-on-red,” said Alty.

The mayor said speed limits could also be reduced in some parts of the city, though broader changes to the city’s approach to transportation and street safety are likely years away.

Alty said city council is looking into a master transportation plan, the budget for which would be set at the end of 2025 with the plan possibly adopted in 2026.

“That is looking at pedestrians, cyclists, vehicles, public transit, and ensuring that it’s the best system for all,” said Alty.

The mayor said staff and council are still discussing the priorities for that master transportation plan.

‘I hope this is a wake-up call’

Jenny Broadbridge’s 11-year-old son was struck by a vehicle as he was riding his bike home from summer camp on Franklin Avenue on June 27.

Broadbridge said a contractor in a truck was making a left turn onto Franklin out of an alleyway when her son was struck.

She surmises the driver “wasn’t checking the sidewalk for cyclists or pedestrians and accelerated into my kid,” whose ankle was injured. The bike was written off.

“It was just a relief that he wasn’t more seriously injured or killed,” said Broadbridge.

Broadbridge said her son was biking on the sidewalk that day because he didn’t feel safe riding on the road.

She said the compact nature of Yellowknife and the many people cycling – some even into the winter – were features that attracted her family to the city when they moved in 2013.

“I’m just hoping this is a wake-up call for residents and for the city,” she said, adding that the two incidents in June should “lead to like positive changes to prevent future accidents and hopefully save lives.”

“I’m fearful that it’s going to take someone getting killed or seriously injured for change to happen,” she said.

“I hope as a community that we’re taking this seriously,” said Alty in response, “and that when folks do see this, that they’re slowing down as drivers, they’re being more aware.

“Every time you get into your vehicle you’re interacting with somebody else’s loved one, whether they’re a cyclist or pedestrian or somebody else in another vehicle.”