Yellowknifers call for crosswalk on Old Airport Road

Some Yellowknifers want the city to install another crosswalk along Old Airport Road to make the street safer for cyclists and pedestrians.

Longtime resident Adam Denley said he wants his children, 11-year-old Evelyn and 10-year-old Alice, to be able to attend Bella Dance Academy on their own – but heavy traffic and the lack of a nearby crosswalk on Old Airport Road make it unsafe for them to walk there alone.

Denley said he and other parents often make multiple trips each evening to escort their children to the academy.

“There are a ton of people” for whom this is a problem, he told Cabin Radio, adding there is “no safe crossing” of Old Airport Road on the roughly one-kilometre stretch between Borden Drive and the Highway 3 intersection.

“I figured I’d just see if I could find out how many other people in the community would benefit from having a crosswalk in the area,” he said.

In a petition, Denley asks the city to install a lighted, button-controlled crosswalk south of the Diamond Field Industrial Complex across from RTL Construction, calling the present situation “dangerous, inefficient, and deeply unpleasant.”

As of Tuesday, just under 80 people had signed the petition.

Although Denley hasn’t witnessed many accidents at the site, he believes that’s largely because parents are reluctant to let children go there by themselves. A nearby crosswalk would also support businesses that cater to children in the area, he said.

“Old Airport Road is a major thoroughfare, so putting in another traffic-controlled device might not seem totally attractive because that’s a main access road,” he said. “But it’s for that reason we have businesses on both sides, and we need safe ways to access the businesses.”

In a statement to Cabin Radio, the City of Yellowknife said it had not yet received a formal request to review the location.

However, the city said it is “open to reviewing requests submitted” and encouraged residents to file formal requests online.

“A marked crosswalk currently exists at Borden Drive to allow pedestrians to access the multi-use path located on the east side of Old Airport Road,” a city spokesperson wrote.

“The remainder of Old Airport Road in that area is primarily commercial and airport-related, resulting in limited pedestrian traffic crossing from east to west.”

The spokesperson said installing a flashing yellow pedestrian crossing in a comparable area, such as from Bartle and Gibson to the Co-op, would cost upward of $35,000, noting that actual costs may vary depending on site-specific conditions.

Dwayne Wohlgemuth, originally from northern Alberta, has lived in Yellowknife for 19 years. Wohlgemuth frequently bikes around the town, often with his sons, 10-year-old Emile and seven-year-old Aleksi.

Wohlgemuth said the multi-use trail on the northeast side of Old Airport Road gets busy, and pedestrians and cyclists regularly have a hard time trying to cross the main road.

He said a button-controlled crosswalk would slow down traffic, making it “a whole lot safer” for those visiting Bella Dance or My World.

“Trying to cross there sometimes, especially with the kids, feels a little precarious and there’s no crosswalks anywhere on that stretch,” he said.

“There’s so many people that will choose to drive just because they don’t feel safe crossing Old Airport Road. If you can make getting there by bicycle feel safe for people, they’re going to do it more often.

“I’m a fit and able guy. I bike and walk and I run, too, and I feel nervous crossing Old Airport Road. So I can’t imagine what, you know, a seven-year-old or a 10-year-old feels like on their bike trying to cross there.”

Bella Dance Academy owner Phoenix Smith said up to 100 children visit the studio during the weekdays, arriving at around 5pm and leaving by 7pm.

For summer camps, Smith said participants walk from the studio to Range Lake Park. Without a sidewalk by the lot, children have to walk along the fences. If there were a crosswalk, she said, it would allow them to safely cross to the sidewalk on the other side.

“There’s a lot of traffic coming and going from the studio. It’s a really busy place, there’s a lot of kids around and there’s a lot of vehicles coming and going,” she said.

“A crosswalk there would make that so much more safer and quicker for them rather than having to go all the way down over by the Mary Brown’s to cross the street.

“The accessibility for the families that bike would also make a big difference.”