Installing traffic lights near St. James Costco justified: city report

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This article was published 03/11/2023 (1057 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A traffic light could be on the way for a busy entrance into the St. James Street Costco.

With special duty police increasingly hired to help direct traffic at the site, St. James Coun. Shawn Dobson had asked for a review to determine if a traffic signal is warranted.

“Getting out of Costco is problematic. Quite often they have police… directing traffic and the very fact that they have police means that there is an issue,” Dobson told the Free Press Friday.

In a new report, city staff say a study found the level of traffic does meet criteria to add lights at the north entrance to the wholesale at 1315 St. James St.

“(A) review of May 2023 traffic counts indicated that traffic control … criteria were met, and the 75 vehicle-per-hour cross street volume threshold was also fulfilled,”

In an emailed statement, city spokesman Ken Allen said about 13,700 vehicles travel through the area on a typical day.

Since the traffic signal would benefit a private property owner, and city rules call for the cost to be covered by a site’s developer, the city will approach Costco management to discuss costs, the report notes.

Dobson said he believes adding the signal is the best option, since drivers making left or right turns at the entrance may lack visibility.

“Putting a traffic light there would eliminate all of that and make it safer for everyone,” he said.

The report mentions the crashes that have happened there.

“A review of reported collisions on the segment of St. James Street between Wellington Avenue and Saskatchewan Avenue indicates a number of collisions referencing the Costco, and the collision configurations are generally considered correctable by traffic control signal installation (such as 90-degree collisions),” David Patman, the city’s manager of transportation planning, wrote.

The report notes Costco “frequently” hires Winnipeg Police Service special duty officers — who can be contracted out for a fee during their time off — to assist with traffic control.

“Costco management indicated that the frequency has been increasing and will likely continue to do so… Modifications to the access points and increased volume of customers have resulted in greater traffic volumes concentrated at the north entrance of 1315 St. James St. (since the location opened in 1990),” Patman wrote.

In June, the Assiniboia Community Committee approved a variance that would allow the construction of a fourth potential Winnipeg Costco location at 4077 Portage Ave, which the city says could affect a final decision on a signal at St. James.

“A drop in traffic to the St. James Street location might potentially defer the need to install a traffic signal,” wrote Allen.

Costco officials could not be reached for comment Friday. Representatives for the company previously declined to answer questions about the timeline for a fourth location.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

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