Pointe Claire will have to go back to the drawing board on a safe crossing for pedestrians on Belmont Avenue between Valois Park and St. John Fisher's junior campus after every bid received for the project would have more than doubled the project's projected cost, lawmakers said Monday night at the city's monthly council meeting.
The slated crossing would consist of an on-demand traffic light, situated on a concrete island, for pedestrians to cross the busy thoroughfare. The light would stop traffic in both directions for an as-yet-undetermined amount of time, similar to crossings in place on Maywood and Cartier avenues in front of seniors' residences and the pedestrian crossing on Sources Boulevard near the eastern end of Mount Pleasant Avenue.
"The bids we received were all more than double what we estimated the cost would b, so we have to go back and see if there are some changes we can make to that," said Pointe Claire mayor Bill McMurchie, who said the city had estimated a $50,000 expenditure, while each bid received was over $100,000.
McMurchie said the crossing was something people living near the school had been looking for for some time.
"That's been a problem parents in the area have been asking us to help with for a long time," he said.
Ward 6 councillor Jacques Labbe, who is responsible for the district, held out hope for the project's future.
"I think and I hope that we'll be able to get that light in there as soon as possible," he said.
