Residents call for traffic calming measures on ‘dangerous’ Dorval street

Calls for traffic calming measures are growing over what some residents are calling a dangerous Dorval street.

Some residents of Oakville Avenue say cars can frequently be seen zooming off Highway 20 and making a sharp turn, barrelling down the quiet residential street.

“Anybody here is at risk of being hit coming out of your driveway. You’re pulling out and all of a sudden a car has come off the highway,” resident Christie Brunet said.

With traces of tire marks on the road, the corner of Herron Road and Oakville Avenue has seen a number of collisions, with the most recent one happening this week.

“This could have been a foreboding of something more serious happening. If one car can fly onto his lawn, what’s to stop it from happening again,” Brunet said.

Dorval Mayor Marc Doret says the city understands the concerns raised by residents.

“We are aware of it. It is a common complaint,” Doret said.

“People come off the highway really quickly and they make a very sharp turn up the road and sometimes they don’t make around the corner. That is the concerning piece.”

To access the avenue, drivers have to cross a double white solid line. According to the city, local police say that they cannot ticket drivers as the manoeuvre is legal.

That contradicts the traffic safety code, according to Transports Québec.

“I’m not so concerned about the double line. It’s more about the solution to this problem,” Doret said.

Brunet says she doesn’t let her son play on the street, fearing the worst.

“The kids can’t ride a bike, they can’t use a skateboard, they can’t do anything in this area because a car can fly right at them,” Brunet said.

The city has intervened in the past, installing bollards, but they were ineffective, according to Doret.

Doret says several solutions are on the table and being looked at.

While most are unlikely, Doret said the city could consider turning a section of the street into a one-way.

However, Doret said that when faced with a similar issue farther down the road, the city installed jersey barriers to stop cars from veering off the highway into the nearby shopping centre on Herron Road.

“Everything is on the table right now but nothing is decided,” Doret said.

While discussions are underway, Doret said it may take more than six months before a permanent solution is in place.