The Editor,
When the plans for the Southbridge LTC facility were being approved by the City of Cornwall, it is evident that someone forgot to factor in access to the facility for southbound traffic on Nick Kaneb Drive. Currently, there is only access to the parking lot when you are driving northbound on Nick Kaneb due to the median dividing the north and south bound lanes.
This lack of access for the southbound lane has caused many vehicles to make unsafe U-turns at the intersection of Nick Kaneb Drive and Holy Cross Boulevard and/or use the break in the median at Bridgewood Public School to access the northbound lane and drive several hundred feet the wrong way to access the Southbridge property.
I have witnessed many cars making the U-turn at Nick Kaneb and Holy Cross. This becomes problematic at this four-way stop as someone driving westbound on Holy Cross will see a southbound car on Nick Kaneb in the left turn lane but that vehicle then makes a U-turn onto Nick Kaneb. There have been many near misses in this example. Not to mention that this is also a busy pedestrian intersection with two elementary schools in the immediate vicinity. I have likewise witnessed cars use the break in the median at Bridgewood P.S. and use the northbound lane and drive several hundred feet in a southerly direction to access the Southbridge property, and while I have not witnessed any near misses in this scenario yet, it is only a matter of time before that happens.
October 31, at 9:51 a.m., however, I saw what I believe takes the cake. A Sysco tractor trailer with an obvious food delivery for Southbridge made the precarious U-turn at this intersection. After speaking to one of the school crossing guards at this intersection later that day, I was told that this was definitely not a one-off, as it happens with regularity, and when it is a tractor trailer doing it, it really puts people on the sidewalk at the northeast corner at risk — children, adults, seniors and school crossing guards alike.
I know that the City is aware of this problem, however, I do not believe that any concrete plans have been made to correct it. It seems an easy enough fix to put an entry for southbound traffic to access Southbridge in the same way as there is to access Bridgewood P.S. The physical space used to accommodate the entry to Bridgewood P.S. is consistent with the space that could be used for an entry to Southbridge LTC.
Lynn Bush, Cornwall
