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Concerned for cyclist safety, some want to ban right turns at red lights in Yellowknife

Yellowknife Mayor Rebecca Alty says city council will discuss issues around street safety, including whether banning right turns on reds would be effective, at a meeting on July 22.

City council to discuss the issue at a meeting next week

Street, buildings.
Some Yellowknife residents want to see the city's roads made safer for cyclists and pedestrians, including by banning right turns on some red lights. (Sara Minogue/CBC)

Some Yellowknife residents want the city to ban right turns on red lights at certain intersections over concerns about street safety for pedestrians and cyclists. 

Yellowknife Mayor Rebecca Alty said city council will discuss issues around street safety, including whether banning right turns on red would be effective, at a meeting scheduled for July 22.

"Folks have expressed interest in coming and speaking to council about it," Alty told CBC. 

Major cities like New York and Montreal have made turning right on a red light illegal.

"The one thing council has talked about is creating a master transportation plan. And so what that would be looking at [is] cycling infrastructure, pedestrian infrastructure, cars, buses, so really looking at ... how we can improve the design standards of the streets," Alty said. 

Right turns on red lights are currently allowed around all of Yellowknife's intersections but one, at the Baker Community Centre on Franklin Avenue. 

Yellowknife city councillor Ben Hendriksen agrees with the push. He said he'd like to see some changes in certain high-traffic intersections to avoid collisions. 

A portrait of a smiling woman in front of a green wall.
Yellowknife Mayor Rebecca Alty says council will hear from residents about road safety at a meeting on July 22. (Julie Plourde/CBC)

Hendriksen said he was riding home from work on his bike in June and was nearly hit by a driver who came within a foot of him.

"Yellowknife has the widest streets that I've ever seen, especially for a population of our size, and so we can really utilize this space in a completely different way in order to allow space for every type of transportation around the city," he said. 

Adam Denley, co-founder of the Shift bike borrowing program, said he wants cyclist safety to be "taken seriously."

"Right now, it seems to be that when a neighbourhood or road is designed, it's designed for cars — and if there is room left over, then there are accommodations put in for other types of road users," Denley said. 

"That's not sufficient."

He also said there are parts of the city that could be made safer, to increase visibility for cars, bikes and pedestrians. He said city council should take the necessary steps to do something about it. 

Alty said the city will look at whether implementing no turns on red lights would be effective, but for now, drivers need to slow down.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rowan Fleary is a reporter in Yellowknife. Prior to joining CBC, he spent more than two years at CTV. You can reach him at rowan.fleary@cbc.ca.