HALIFAX – After months of construction, the new intersection at Kearney Lake Road and Larry Uteck Boulevard is open, but the design is causing major problems for drivers.
“The folks that are used to the road are not used to this, and we need some awareness that this is potentially a very dangerous intersection,” said Matt Whitman, the area’s councillor.
Since the intersection opened on December 19th, there have been multiple accidents here. Kearney Lake Road used to be a single road of steady, two way traffic. Now, inbound traffic on Kearney Lake Road must merge on to Larry Uteck Boulevard on a hairpin turn. Drivers moving outbound on Larry Uteck Boulevard must come to a complete stop then turn left to get on to Kearney Lake Road.
“It went from a road that was the same road for a hundred years, that people were used to travelling on, to now there is a sharp turn, a stop sign and you have to merge into traffic, and there’s no clear indication that’s coming,” said motorist Amanda Perry.
Whitman says no matter which way you enter the new intersection, it’s a problem. “I do have concerns in all three directions at this intersection. Its not just one bad way bad to approach this,” he said. “It’s not wide enough for cars to even make the turn without going into the bicycle lane here, there’s a bicycle lane, a crosswalk, driveways, 45 degree turn, new stop sign, 8 street lights out.”
The councillor doesn’t understand why the city didn’t build a roundabout like the one a kilometer away. “A roundabout probably would have been the way to go. HRM likes roundabouts, there is three at the top of this hill, we put them in every day,” said Whitman.
The city admits they’ve been hearing concerns from residents, and are looking at how to make it better for motorists. “They had to touch base with heritage gas about some of the infrastructure in the area, so over the next couple of days the people will start to see new signs there,” spokesperson Jennifer Stairs said.
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