Less than a week after new stop signs were installed at a highway intersection in the community of Balzac, near Calgary, Alberta Transportation has increased the amount of warning for drivers.
The stop signs were installed last Wednesday with no amnesty period, RCMP said in a release last week.
Last week, drivers complained to Global News that there was not enough notice about the new stop signs, and many motorists were blasting on through at highway speeds.
“With someone doing 100 km/h heading into the intersection, for sure someone could die,” motorist Harvey Roofer said on Friday.
Since last week, Alberta Transportation has installed a large, digital message sign with lights as well as rumble strips leading up to the intersection, which were installed on Tuesday.
According to the operations manager for Calgary, the delay in the rumble strips and large sign was weather-related.
“We normally would try to put the rumble strip in at the same time but because it’s wintertime we’re not able to do that,” Fred Lee said.
“And it’s important to put the stop sign in to address the issues.”
Lee said there are several other four-way intersections with stop signs around the province that work well, but in this case, extra precautions were necessary.
Lee said the department would like to see a roundabout eventually replace the intersection, but funding hasn’t been allocated to the Balzac interchange project yet. The four-way stop will stay in place until a roundabout is built.
Since last Wednesday, the RCMP has issued about 100 traffic tickets related to the stop sign. Rocky View County would not disclose the number of tickets bylaw officers have issued.
WATCH: Footage shot by Rob Crispens shows various motorists running a four-way stop near Balzac, Alta.
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