Christine Kay
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Sep 30/02) - A consulting firm's recommendation to keep stop signs at the hospital intersection was voted down by city council Tuesday night.

They voted against the firm's report, even though it was the city that hired them to conduct the review in the first place.

The review was done by Dillon Consulting, a company based in Yellowknife. It was presented to councillors in June. The report reads: "The removal of stop signs along Apex Road could negatively affect the safety of pedestrians attempting to cross in the east-west direction."

It also indicates the intersection is operating at a good level of service during the mid-day peak.

Coun. Stu Kennedy said he doesn't believe that. He believes the stops signs contribute to traffic congestion in the area.

"There seems to be an oversight here. Did they do this on the weekend?" said Kennedy.

Council voted three to one to reject the recommendations from Dillon Consulting to leave the intersection the way it is.

The report shows a maximum wait of 15 minutes. A similar study done by city bylaw officers had the same results.

To fix the problem, councillors suggest yield signs be placed along the road to Apex and crosswalk signs also be used. Both Iqaluit's bylaw supervisor, Travise Dow and Iqaluit's director of engineering, Matthew Hough, said they think council would be making a mistake if the stop signs were removed.

Dow said bylaw officers had handed out 61 traffic tickets to date this year and over 400 verbal warnings. "I like the stop signs. It slows the traffic and allows pedestrians who walk to and from the hospital safe access," said Dow.

Council has decided to wait until the results of another study done by engineers and architects at Ferguson Simek Clark is completed before making a final decision. The results are expected sometime in November.