‘It’s made absolutely no difference’: Residents frustrated with Arcola intersection

A few concrete barriers set up along Arcola Avenue are aimed at helping ease traffic flow during a busy Regina construction season. However, they’re creating nothing but frustration for those living nearby.

The barriers were set up at where Arcola intersects Dixon Crescent and Lacon Street, just east of the Ring Road interchange, on May 27. The city also turned off the street lights at the intersection.

“If it actually made a difference in the flow of traffic on Arcola, I could suck it up and I think most residents could suck it up,” Danielle Mullinex said.

“But the fact is, it’s made absolutely no difference. So the extra added risk for everybody in the neighbourhood, it’s not really worth it.”

Residents still have right-in, right-out access to Dixon and Lacon, but they can no longer cross Arcola or turn left.

Mullinex said this is creating a dangerous situation, with the only way to go left out of her neighbourhood is by turning at Park Street or 14th Avenue.

“Now, we’re having to turn left at uncontrolled intersections, and that’s extremely dangerous. I’ve seen so many close calls in the last week,” she said.

Compounding the safety issues, Mullinex is worried about what could happened in an emergency.

In a statement, a City of Regina spokesperson said that they have heard residential concerns about the changes and emphasized they are temporary measures.

“This pilot improvement will be reviewed to determine if restricting traffic on side streets help increase traffic movement on this major arterial roadway. We will continue to monitor the situation,” the statement reads.

It concludes by saying they appreciate people’s patience during a busy construction season, and reminds residents to drive safe.

For Mullinex, she feels her concerns are falling on deaf ears.

“Nothing’s being done. I’ve yet to see a city truck or any type of supervisor monitoring the situation. I mean now would obviously be the perfect time to see, it doesn’t matter what colour that light is, traffic’s backed up,” Mullinex said as rush hour traffic came to a stop behind her.

According to her, the light is mostly green for Arcola traffic. It would only turn red for 15 to 20 seconds every couple minutes to allow Dixon and Lacon traffic to flow.