City Council agrees on Zellers Plaza pedestrian crossing

After years of lobbying by citizens like Sylvia Mosher, Sault Ste. Marie City Council tonight gave agreement in principle to a signalized pedestrian crossing on Northern Avenue.

The new crossing is expected to cost $175,000 and will be in the vicinity of Pee Wee Arena and Zellers Plaza.

"Crossing the street is dangerous all the time and could even be deadly at times," Mosher (shown) told SooToday.com in November, 2002. "Each year the traffic gets faster and heavier," she said.

Mosher was in the council chambers tonight as City councillors green-lighted the long-sought project subject to approval during 2007 budget deliberations.

The most recent push for a Northern Avenue pedestrian crossing began last September after a three-year-old child in a stroller was seriously hurt in an accident there.

City staff have argued that a warrant under the Ontario traffic Manual was needed to install traffic control devices.

Councillors were recently advised that the requirements for a warrant have now been met, as a result of new retail developments in the area.

The $175,000 cost estimate for the project is expected to include both the signal crossing equipment as well as needed modifications to sidewalks and curbs.