Traffic concerns have been reignited after a head-on collision at Krahn Road and Main Street earlier this month. The accident occurred on March 2.
Back in 2018, the Town of Niverville held an open house to seek public feedback on traffic solutions to problem areas throughout the community. At that time, the town’s engineering team recommended a one-lane roundabout with right lane cut-offs at the Krahn Road intersection.
Town planners, as well as the public, accurately predicted that the intersection would be subject to ever-increasing traffic with the residential development in The Highlands growing every year, as well as the still-expanding commercial development along Drovers Run.
The province’s most recent traffic review for Niverville in 2019 resulted in the decision to decrease speed limits on Highway 311 west of Niverville and install a crosswalk at Mulberry Avenue. Changing the railroad crossing at Main Street and introducing traffic roundabouts at Sixth Avenue and Krahn Road were also discussed, but to date no plans are in place to proceed with these projects.
Melissa Gladue, owner of Niverville Pizzeria in the strip mall on Drover’s Run, was a witness to the accident on March 2 and says that since their restaurant has opened, they’ve seen three bad accidents on that corner.
“The traffic is heavy, which yields impatient drivers not wanting to wait their turn. I also have seen many people speeding in that area,” says Gladue. “And thinking of the near future, with the expansion of Fifth Avenue West coming with a big housing development, additions to The Highlands, and the other seventy-five acres of land for sale on the southwest side of Krahn, traffic is only going to increase as development continues.”
Gladue wants to see increased traffic measures at the intersection.
“I truly believe if a light or roundabout were added, it would force people to be more patient and slow down,” she says. “We have two young kids ourselves who regularly walk around the area with us, and I believe a slower speed limit as well as a light or some sort of traffic addition to regulate slower traffic would help immensely with speeding and impatience.”
Following the March 2 accident, both the Town of Niverville and Province of Manitoba have responded to the concerns raised by residents.
“Manitoba Infrastructure continuously monitors intersection operations and assesses the need for traffic control revisions,” says Ron Schuler, MLA for Springfield-Ritchot and Minister of Infrastructure. “In response to increased traffic generated by developments located southeast of the intersection, improvements were made at the intersection of PR 311 and Krahn Road [in 2019]. Future projections from traffic impact studies commissioned by the town and by developers will be under consideration, which may include upgrades to the intersection at Mulberry to provide access to the south.”
Mayor Myron Dyck of Niverville confirms that all improvements to Main Street are the jurisdiction of the province, but the town has the ability to bring projects to the province’s attention.
“As a town, we bring things to their attention and help bring things front and centre in our opinion,” says Mayor Dyck. “We need to practice safety and be mindful and careful. We will try to do the best we can to bring our needs forward.”
Regarding the Krahn Road intersection specifically, the mayor says that since the 2019 study was completed, no further improvements have been scheduled.
“When it meets their criteria for traffic count and budget and priority and all that, then they will do it,” Dyck says. “Because of the accident, we will keep it at the forefront when we have those conversations.”
He also highlights the constant backlog of infrastructure projects that make it a challenge for administrators to prioritize according to both the need for public safety and genuine urgency.
“On the one side, if we would call the province and say [we] would pay for it, they would say go for it. But that’s not the way it works. We all pay our fair share of taxes and [highway improvements are] one of the things we look for from the money we give them. They always have many more asks for their time and money than resources allow, but Minister Schuler has always been good at letting us know what their priorities are and what they can do in our area. He always listens.”
It is natural for residents to see a need before it’s brought to the attention of the province, but Mayor Dyck says there is always a delay from seeing the need to planning to project actualization.
“It’s not that the province or the feds don’t see the needs here,” Dyck says. “But it is the backlog of existing needs that is the challenge. Despite all the money we pay in taxes, it still pales in comparison to the infrastructure backlog that we are facing as a province and as a country.”
The reality of government funds being diverted to the COVID-19 response also creates a challenge that will have an impact on the ability of every level of government to meet needs for years to come.
“The province has just shoved themselves in debt $2 billion because of COVID, so that impacts things,” the mayor adds. “COVID relief, small business loans, vaccination roll out, that has taken priority. From a budgeting standpoint, from the province to do all sorts of things they want to do, and balance the budget, it’s going to be challenging.”
Town CAO Eric King has checked into any further specific projects the town plans to undertake in the near future, such as curb improvements, snow-clearing, boulevard creation, and turning lanes. But he also points out that the role of municipal government is to bring things forward to the province and not to move on them independently.
“The intersections along 311 will require the town to continue to work with Manitoba Infrastructure and see what improvements are warranted by the data,” says King. “As an example, Krahn Road intersection improvements were recommended in the 2027 timeframe based on development of Fifth Avenue West.”
