In 2014, Iqaluit to sort out city’s traffic sign mess

Iqaluit’s municipal public works department will set standards on traffic signage and road markings by spring of 2014. (PHOTO BY PETER VARGA)

Drivers and pedestrians in Iqaluit can expect consistent standards on traffic signage, road markings and speed bumps by spring, the city’s director of public works said Nov. 12.

“Signs are an essential element of any safe city to properly function,” director Keith Couture reported to city council at a regular meeting, Nov. 12.

“This public works department is making every effort to ensure this occurs.”

Complaints about the need for greater pedestrian safety in the summer led the city to paint crosswalks and install speed bumps in September.

Although the mayor and city administrators said they received mostly positive reviews about the new features, speed bumps of inconsistent height, awkward placement, and lack of signage to indicate their placement drew complaints from some residents and city councillors.

The city’s public works director, fresh back from a four-month leave of absence, said the department’s next step is to draft standards on signage and traffic signals, which will cover specifics on standards and maintenance.

“There’s a lot of research to be done,” Couture said, adding that he would draft standards best suited to Iqaluit, based on practices followed in other large northern Canadian communities.

In the meantime, Couture said the city’s first priority with the onset of winter is to ensure that the most urgent indicators — such as stop signs and speed limits, are properly maintained and replaced.

Missing street signs are less urgent, and any replacements will have to wait until the city has a full inventory, he said.

City councillors commented on some glaring irregularities, including stretches of road that call for different speed limits in opposite directions.

Councillor Joanasie Akumalik joked that his car could not drive fast enough uphill on one sloping road, marked 40 km per hour, nor slow enough in the other direction to hit 30 km per hour.

He added that proper signage was needed to warn new drivers in Iqaluit about taking Upper Base Road or the Road to Nowhere “at your own risk,” and Couture agreed.

The Road to Nowhere also poses another puzzle for Couture’s department: how to keep street signs from being stolen.

Coun. Mark Morrissey recalled a visit from his father a few years ago.

“We drove by it that afternoon,” Morrissey recalled. “He said ‘I want my photo taken with that sign.’ We went down again after supper, and it was gone. That was four years ago, and it hasn’t been replaced yet.”

When it comes time to install new signs, Couture promised potential thieves “are going to have to work to get it.”

The Nov. 12 meeting marked the first attendance of Iqaluit’s newest councillor, Noah Papatsie, at a regular council meeting.

Papatsie’s presence marked the first time a regular council meeting was attended by a full complement of eight councillors with the mayor since the last general election, Oct. 2012.

The councillor’s guide dog, Xeno, also sat in on the meeting.