MAIN AND MAIN INTERSECTION DANGEROUS CORNER FOR DRIVERS DUE TO ‘OVERGROWN WEED COLLECTOR,’ WARNS WORRIED NEIGHBOUR

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com

GRAVENHURST — Safety first?

At Main and main there’s danger lurking around a corner.

With heavy summer traffic back an intersection on Muskoka Road is an “accident waiting to happen” with a backup of cars and trucks from a stop light that makes getting out onto the road almost impossible due to an “over-grown, out-of-control weed collector,” says a neighbour.

Compare that to a few blocks south, where it’s easy to see and be seen entering and exiting the same stretch of roadway at the Petro-Can gas bar in the commercial district.

Lois Cooper lives at Main Street and the main street.

She says she’s complained to staff and councillors about the obstruction for years and can’t understand why the Town of Gravenhurst can’t control an “out-of-control” bush that puts drivers turning south in peril every day now.

That includes ambulances who use the intersection for frequent daily patient transfers from the Muskoka Shores LTC, the District of Muskoka’s commuter bus Corridor 11 and hundreds of vehicles that use the street as a shortcut to Bethune Drive.

Both Muskoka Road and Bethune Drive are District of Muskoka Roads. But the property maintenance is a third tier municipal responsibility.

The long-time resident says she’s seen several “close calls” and wonders why there’s a “double-standard for residential and business uses.”

She herself has “almost been hit” several times trying to nose out and looking left around the “big bush” for cars and trucks speeding down the decline in to the downtown at a rail crossing.

An avid gardener, with a well-groomed showcase property at the northeast side of the intersection, she says whoever the contractor is responsible for maintaining and trimming the massive ugly mess is not giving the town its money’s worth.

No wonder, she says.

For years Cooper and the Gravenhurst Horticultural Society kept up two welcoming gardens kitty corner, which she says have also languished under town landscaping control.

And, she says, begs the question: “Why isn’t the town doing something about an obvious problem?

“Shouldn’t their lawyers be aware of this at risk situation?”

Police use the intersection often to hide their RIDE checks, so it’s known publicly.

Is inching out into traffic a safe option for both drivers entering the intersection?

Cooper says the solution is to nip the problem in the bud by cutting the trees down to the same size as the only other comparable outcropping at the Edward Street intersection.

She notes a large new business complex is close to opening in the Southgate Plaza and new fast food and apartment complexes are creating a bottle neck that extends toward the old core business section of the town.

A gas station and food service is also planned further east on Main Street.

The Gateway to Muskoka community is growing and with it comes more responsibilities for the safety of drivers and pedestrians sharing the road, Cooper says.

Years ago, she notes, when Gravenhurst and the district partnered on widening to three lanes the road both councils restated their preference for preserving the stretch of several blocks as a residential corridor break between “big box stores” and small businesses. Thus maintaining a slight bend in the road meant to slow the vehicular pattern flow and conserve some semblance of a neighbourhood with all its positive impacts.

Can the two co-exist harmoniously or was that all talk?

It’s not dis-similar to a lamentable situation at the west end of town coming up Bay Street, from west on Hwy. 69, where the red carpet has a distinct tear in its welcoming red carpet from The Wharf to Greavette Street. (More on that later.)

A little cooperation — and some hedge cutters — would go a long way in alleviating potential t-bone accident.

We’ll ask the town?

You should, too.

EMAIL: [email protected]

28 years of ‘Local Online Journalism’

Twitter: @muskokatoday, Facebook: mclairmont1

Leave comments at end of story

SUBSCRIBE for $25 by e-transferring to [email protected]

Or go online to https://muskokatoday.com/subscriptions