After crash near Dofasco plant in Hamilton, area resident tells city planners: 'We feel forgotten'

Some Hamilton residents in the area north of Barton Street East, surrounding the Centre on Barton mall, are becoming increasingly concerned for their safety and that of their neighbours.

Angel Card lives at the corner of Ottawa Street North and Dalkeith Avenue, near the site of a crash Sunday where a woman and her 10-year-old son were hit by an SUV while walking, leaving them in critical condition. The driver fled on foot, prompting an ongoing investigation by police. 

Family identified the woman as Nicole Constandinides, her son as Maddox. Constandinides' husband, Sean Reid, was with them but suffered minor injuries.

Since Card started living in the area with their partner and daughter in 2016, they said there have been a number of vehicle crashes on that stretch of Ottawa Street North causing growing concern and worry among residents.

Card points to an incident just over two weeks ago where a driver drove onto the patch off grass between the road and the sidewalk. "Girls took the tree [out] that's literally only four feet from my house," they said.

"It was the exact same situation where they revved up at the tracks as a stunt and lost control," Card said, referring to what they believe also happened Sunday. 

Hamilton Police confirmed a single vehicle collision occurred on June 21, when a car struck and dragged a tree into the roadway just before 8:30 p.m. Police said a driver was arrested for impaired driving.

"Anyone who drives on that strip of Ottawa Street knows you need to slow down in order to safely drive over the hump at the tracks," Nrinder Nann, Hamilton city councillor for Ward 3 told CBC Hamilton in an email.

In a statement released Thursday, Hamilton Centre MP Matthew Green said the increase in pedestrian injuries and fatalities is "unacceptable" and "cannot continue to go unaddressed." Within hours of the statement, a 12-year-old boy waiting in a bus shelter with his family in Stoney Creek was sent to hospital after a vehicle crashed into them.

 "When people aren't safe to walk/bike down a street, or cross intersection, then it's time to admit that we are in the midst of a public safety crisis," Green wrote.

Another Ottawa Street North neighbour points to what he says is outdated street design as a factor in road safety within the area.

"Fifty years ago, there was 40,000 people working at Dofasco," said Chris Scroope, who has lived at the corner of Ottawa Street North and Dalkeith Avenue for the past five years. 

"That's why they made all the traffic signal changes here, so they can get people out of those factories." Now he estimates there are around 4,000 workers coming and in out of the location. "They haven't fixed that," he said, referring to a lack of traffic signals adjustments.

When asked about street design and safety concerns, a city of Hamilton representative told CBC Hamilton "there is not a significant amount of past injury and fatal collision history in this area," and that once more is known about the Sunday incident, "staff will determine if any further road safety measures are necessary."

Coun. Nann said there is an issue with speeding. "The problem is, some people still see it as a through way and drive way too fast," Nann said, noting that her office had heard from at least one resident last week with concerns over excessive speeding in the area.

Scroope said he thinks that another contributing factor is the inability to turn left or right onto Barton Street from Ottawa Street North or Kenilworth Avenue North.

"That forces people to drive through that mall," Scroope said.

He said that this has drivers use the single lane in the middle of the mall as a thoroughfare. "What that does is that makes everyone that comes flying out of that mall mad because they had to do that and they couldn't get from A to B," he said.

"Then of course, they want to get going because they were just sitting in traffic in a mall."

'I don't feel safe in my house'

When Card and their partner bought their home on the corner six years ago, they were told the kitchen was newly renovated. 

Recently, they were told by neighbours that the renovation was done because a car had in fact struck the side of the home.

"People drove through our kitchen from that unassuming road right across from us, behind Walmart, and drove through the kitchen," Card said.

"That is very terrifying when I have a child and animals in the house... It's getting to the point where I don't feel safe in my house, or even taking a walk to go out of my house," Card said.

Card said it is especially unfortunate to have such a dangerous stretch of road where they see children from the nearby apartment buildings wait at the bus stop across the street from the site of Sunday's crash.

Residential or industrial area?

Coun. Nann said she has asked staff to ensure a technical review of the roadway is done and work is completed to put together immediate and long-term solutions for implementation. 

"It is clear to me that we need to end it being used as a fast through way and enhance the pedestrian realm for safety," Nann said, "including steps like ensuring those shrubs are trimmed, consider a signalized crosswalk and get some more regular speed enforcement in the area."

Ottawa Street North is the border between wards 3 and 4. Sunday's crash took place on the east side of the street, where Ward 4 begins. 

When asked about road safety in the area, Ward 4 Councillor Sam Merulla said there was a Complete Street analysis of Ottawa Street years ago but the focus was south of the area, between Main Street East and Barton.

"We didn't include anything north of Barton, primarily because it's commercial, industrial," Merulla said.

He said that is something that could be assessed after the municipal election in the fall. He won't be part of council then because he is retiring, he said. 

"Everything north of Barton… it's not a neighborhood," Merulla said. "It's all commercial... Centre Mall and then just a couple of garages."

"The neighborhood to the left exists and to the right, but it's not on the street itself," he said, referring to the stretch of Ottawa Street North between Barton Street East and Burlington Street.

Card said it is unfortunate to know that the area is described as only industrial when she can see many people who live in the surrounding area.

"The only factory is Dofasco," Card said. "I can tell you looking at my window, I see hundreds of houses and families outside right now playing. We're not a factory area." 

In addition to the residential streets off Ottawa, Ottawa Street North Centre Residences is a seven-storey apartment complex directly on the strip. 

"Every street starts with a business. So when you're driving down Ottawa [Street North], well yeah, you would think it's factory and industrial," Card said. "But the moment you turn on any one of those streets past that business is all homes full of children and seniors."

Card said there are also a lot of low-income residents who also live in the area.

"Residents here have been telling the police for years that this is going to happen. Families and seniors, they don't feel safe," Card said. 

"I mean, I could move tomorrow. I could sell my house or rent my house out and leave, but that doesn't protect the families here. We already feel forgotten."