The recently roughed-up concrete barrier in front of Veterans’ Park has seen a few collisions over the years, but it also protects pedestrians.
Statistics provided by the City of Red Deer back to 2013 indicate there have been five collisions with the barrier at the intersection of Ross Street and 49th Avenue.
Niki Burkinshaw, City engineering services manager, said of those collisions, most had a simple, non-engineering based, explanation.
Of the five collisions, two were attributed to speeding and alcohol; one collision’s reason was unknown, but the vehicle was abandoned; and one was as the result of a medical defect.
The only collision that the city didn’t have more detail on was the fifth and most recent one.
“If that curb wasn’t there and those two impaired by alcohol and driving at an unsafe speed, where would they have ended up and who might have been in the way,” said Burkinshaw.
The barrier was first put in place in 2012, when Veterans’ Park was completed.
“It’s there for additional protection for pedestrians,” said Burkinshaw. “To prevent vehicles from driving into Veterans’ Park. The barrier by the crosswalk is there to stop vehicles from driving through the planters and into Veterans’ Park and potentially hitting pedestrians.”
A recent letter to the Advocate, said the barrier is a traffic hazard that has been “crashed into many times.”
mcrawford@reddeeradvocate.com
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