There is now a safe place to cross Main St. in the west end of Huntsville.
A crosswalk has been installed at the intersection of Main St. and Yonge St. South as part of the town’s Sidewalk Master Plan, circulated at the start of the year.
“There was a lot of community interest. When we did the master plan, we went out for comment from the public and that was one area that was commented on a lot, that we needed to provide a safe way for everybody to cross the road there,” says Steve Hernen, Huntsville’s Director of Operations and Protective Services. “Main Street’s quite busy in that area, [and] we had to add some sidewalks to make it make sense. We’re happy to say it’s up and running and ready to go.”
Previously, the nearest place to safely cross the busy thoroughfare was at the intersection of Main St. and Centre St., about 1.2 kilometres away. Hernen says there’s a few key points of interest in the area that warrant a safe crossing.
“Lot of kids are walking to school out of the subdivisions out to Huntsville Public School, and we had a lot of people going to Avery Beach, so it was identified as a high risk and a high need,” says Hernen. “We were fortunate enough to receive a grant, and the District of Muskoka contributed as well as Town Council, and we were able to get that project completed.”
The crosswalk went online Monday morning.