Cambridge parents calling for speed-calming measures at popular neighbourhood bus stop

People living in Cambridge’s Highland Ridge neighbourhood are calling on the city to install speed-reducing measures at an intersection that also serves as a busy school bus stop.

Parents say Salisbury Avenue is notorious for vehicles speeding around a blind corner approaching the intersection with Hardcastle Drive. They say there have been collisions, and near collisions, over the past several months.

“It’s very concerning because something tragic could happen and we don’t want that here,” resident Christopher Pfohl said.

“My daughter was on a school bus a couple of days ago where it had turned and also another vehicle had turned – it hit the passenger side. If they’re at the stop sign and somebody is coming around the corner very quickly and they don’t see them, then the chance for an accident can happen.”

Waterloo regional police confirm the school bus crash happened around 8:20 a.m. on Tuesday. Children were on board, but no one was hurt. The bus driver was charged with failing to yield.

Residents say that collision has renewed their calls for action for the city to review the area.

The intersection used to be a four-way stop while the developer was completing construction in the neighbourhood. Once it concluded, two of the stop signs came down. In 2022, neighbours brought a petition to Cambridge City Council to have it reinstalled but it didn’t happen.

“It would be nice to have a stop sign, but it also relates to what is the best option – is it reducing speed? Is it a combination of a stop sign and speed bumps? Because you can have a stop sign but people still race up to it,” Pfohl said.

“Maybe it’s looking at all options to determine what the best solution would be.”

Resident Vanessa Love said speed has been a concern for her since her family moved into the neighbourhood in 2019.

“There’s a lot of kids that play along the street here always, and people are constantly blowing through. Just flying – absolutely flying,” Love said.

“I honestly think a stop sign is really what this corner needs. There’s a blind corner there and there’s so many kids. The bus that was T-boned here just the other day – that should immediately put something in place.”

Residents have been working with their ward councillor Sheri Roberts about their concerns.

“It was a couple of weeks ago when I first heard from some residents in this neighbourhood who were concerned about speeding, about some of the safety for kids crossing at this intersection just in light of the curvature of Salisbury,” Roberts said.

She reached out to city transportation staff about the situation.

“They, right away, put that on the list for an upcoming review of the intersection, which will be happening very shortly.”

Leah Walter, the director of engineering and transportation with the City of Cambridge, said a four-way stop wasn’t in the initial Traffic Control Plan in the neighbourhood.

She said since it’s been a few years and there has been expansion in the area, staff will revisit it.

“We looked into it and we decided that we would schedule an investigation of the traffic operations and speeding in that area. That will be due to happen in a couple of weeks’ time,” Walter said, explaining the city has an external vendor who will collect data.

“They’ll monitor the traffic volumes and do the turning counts, and then they’ll also look at the speeding data as well.”

Once that data comes back, Walter said the city will evaluate it and look at next steps.

“It will take a few weeks after we get the data to do the processing and then if anything is warranted, we do have to go to council for a report,” she said.

“It is a bit of a lengthy process, so it does take time and the patience is appreciated.”