{"id":61337,"date":"2026-01-04T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelaker.ca\/?p=61337"},"modified":"2026-01-04T11:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-04T15:00:00","slug":"aging-traffic-lights-poor-design-complicate-fixes-at-hwy-2-fall-river-road-intersection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/?p=61337","title":{"rendered":"Aging traffic lights, poor design complicate fixes at Hwy. 2\u2013Fall River Road intersection"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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FALL RIVER:<\/strong> Traffic congestion and safety concerns at the intersection of Highway 2 and Fall River Road near Sobeys continue to frustrate drivers and the local councillor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cathy Deagle Gammon, the HRM representative for Waverley-Fall River-Musquodoboit Valley, said that outdated equipment, space constraints, and a past design flaw limit immediate solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She added in a year-end interview with The Laker News on Dec. 29 that the intersection has been a frequent topic of discussion with residents since early in her first term on council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the years, traffic engineers have adjusted signal timing several times, including different setups during the school year and summer months, but the changes have only offered limited relief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is a very challenging set of lights,\u201d Deagle Gammon said, pointing to how tightly packed nearby businesses are on the Fall River Road side of the intersection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Vehicles going up Fall River Road will soon see a sign indicating they can’t make a left-hand turn into the Irving unless they are an authorized vehicle (fuel tanker truck, for example) as they currently do. (Healey photo) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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The biggest issue, she said, is vehicles making left-hand turns from Fall River Road, particularly into the gas station, which causes backups and delays for drivers heading straight through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To address that, the municipality plans to introduce a new restriction in 2026 that will prohibit left-hand turns into the gas station, except for authorized vehicles such as the fuel tankers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were working with the previous owner of the garage, Wilsons, and just about had an agreement, so now we\u2019re starting over again,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cHopefully in 2026, we\u2019ll see a sign that says no left-hand turns except authorized vehicles.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Deagle Gammon said enforcement is not expected to rely heavily on police presence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m not so sure we want police sitting there all the time,\u201d she said, adding that community awareness and self-policing often play an important role in traffic safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Another challenge is the age of the traffic signal equipment itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A white control box on the high side of Fall River Road houses the mechanics for the intersection, and staff will assess in 2026 whether it has the capacity to allow further signal changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey need to come out and do an assessment to see if there\u2019s room within that box to make another change,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Replacing the entire signal system or rebuilding the intersection is not currently an option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt this point in time, to rip up that entire set of lights to put in new equipment doesn\u2019t qualify,\u201d Deagle Gammon said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s patience that people need right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Deagle Gammon acknowledged the intersection was poorly designed during previous construction projects, including the bridge replacement, when an additional turning lane could have been added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cIt was a poor design, and it\u2019s one we now have to live with for a while,\u201d she said. \u201cSo we need to make the best of what we\u2019ve got.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

While near-misses have been reported, the councillor noted there have been no major accidents, calling that \u201ca good thing,\u201d but emphasized patience will be required as the municipality works within existing constraints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For now, the councillor said the focus remains on making incremental improvements within the limits of the existing design while longer-term options are evaluated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have to make the best of what we\u2019ve got,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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FALL RIVER: Traffic congestion and safety concerns at the intersection of Highway 2 and Fall River Road near Sobeys continue to frustrate drivers and the local councillor. Cathy Deagle Gammon, the HRM representative for Waverley-Fall River-Musquodoboit Valley, said that outdated equipment, space constraints, and a past design flaw limit immediate solutions. She added in a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":61441,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,957],"tags":[1610,2124,2,102,3355,667,10034,6626,475,2949],"class_list":["post-61337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-news","tag-cathy-deagle-gammon-2","tag-councillor-cathy-deagle-gammon","tag-fall-river","tag-fall-river-road","tag-hwy-2","tag-irving","tag-no-unauthorized-left-turns","tag-sobeys-fall-river","tag-traffic","tag-traffic-lights"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=61337"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61337\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/61441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=61337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=61337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=61337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}