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By Justine Kelsie

Two intersections due for traffic lights in Grande Prairie

Feb 6, 2018 | 11:03 AM

Two intersections could be getting traffic lights in Grande Prairie.

According to City Capital Planning and Construction Manager Matt Hinton, the intersection of 132 Avenue and 97 B Street, as well as 89 Avenue and 116 Street, have become warranted under federal standards. The construction process can begin once the recommendation goes to city council. 

“We will hire a consultant to design the lights and then put a tender out for the construction this year. It would probably be late fall for the lights to be put in.”

The two areas were not included in the Capital Budget. To go forward with the construction, funds would be moved from intersections that have not yet met federal standards including 108 Street and 132 Avenue, and 72 Avenue and 92 Street. The intersection at 92 Street and 132 Avenue will be deleted from traffic signal funding until lights are needed in that area. Although the three intersections are on the back-burner, Hinton says the areas could eventually meet the threshold and be brought back to a future city meeting for discussion. 

“They will be monitored over the next year or two years. If the warrants increase, then we will come back to council and say ‘these intersections are now warranted, can we put them in?’ Currently, they don’t meet the warrant analysis that we have. The other two that are on the table do.” 

The federal standards look at more than just speed or traffic counts, according to Robin Hutchinson, Transportation and Safety Engineer Supervisor. 

“These warrants look at a number of different factors: the number of lanes, the traffic approaching from the side road, and the number of collisions,” said Hutchinson in an interview about traffic lights at 108 St and 132 Ave.

Hutchinson explains that the number would need to reach a score of 100 before lights are warranted at any location. For the two that Administration is looking at, the number has reached or surpassed that guideline. The three that the city says don’t need lights have a score ranging from 41 to 72.


** Map legend: The lights in red not yet warranted by federal standards. The lights in green are being looked at by the city. 

by Justine Kelsie