Traffic counts along the Highway 43 corridor see a drop in 2022

Whitecourt Town Council receives an annual presentation on collision incidents and recently looked over the data reported from 2022. The Collision Report shows trends and possible problem areas based on where incidents occur, when, and how often. Jennine Loberg, Director of Planning and Development, walked Council through the document.

She said the most significant increase in collisions occurred along the Highway 43 corridor. “We were up about 45 percent, which seems like a lot, but in looking at prior year trends, that is comparable to those reported prior to 2019.” Per the data, there were 42 collisions reported along the Highway 43 corridor last year. In 2021, there were 29 collisions. However, when looking back at the years before Covid, 2017 had 51 collisions along the corridor, 2018 had 45 and 2019 had 36, putting the 42 incidents in 2022 closer in line with trends from previous years.

The one factor that stands out on Highway 43 is the traffic count. The Town of Whitecourt uses traffic numbers collected by Alberta Transportation from two intersections, Highway 43/Dahl Drive and Highway 43/51 Street, to compile local traffic trends. A chart in the May 23 Council meeting package showed a fifteen percent decrease in traffic volume between 2021 and 2022.

The chart showed Westbound drivers at the 51 Street intersection on Highway 43 totalled 13,720 in 2021 and 11,660 in 2022, a difference of just over two thousand fewer drivers from one year to the next. However, the difference in traffic increases when comparing data further back. Using the same intersection above, there were 17,580 drivers in 2018, nearly six thousand more than in 2022.

When asked about it by Council, Loberg said she wasn’t sure why Alberta Transportation’s traffic counts were lower. “They did report it (the data) differently, but that is a good connection. There is a lower number of traffic, yet we are seeing a higher increase in collisions along the highway.” She said they would inquire into Alberta Transportation for further clarification. “We thought the counts looked low as well, but they seem to be low at all our intersections on Highway 43.”

A total of 183 collisions were reported last year, up ten from 2021. Compared to 2017, 2018, and 2019, incident numbers in 2022 are below average. The most considerable increase in incidents was those on private parking lots. Fifty-five parking lot collisions were reported, making up 30 percent of the yearly total. Councillor Baker asked who was responsible for ensuring parking space lines were painted and updated, the private land owner or the municipality.

Mayor Pickard responded that Bylaw enforcement handles that issue, ensuring lines are visible. He added that in his experience, parking lot collisions are always an issue. “You go to Costco, and they have those supersized parking spots, but as a business owner and you own a parking lot, you don’t want to spend all your money on land for parking.”

Loberg said that since 2015, an amendment to Whitecourt’s Land Use Bylaw requires more oversized parking stalls to accommodate larger truck traffic. “We do see the newer parking lots having fewer collisions than the older, smaller parking lots, but really we can only deal with those as new permits arise, so we work with property owners as they make changes to their property to try and make betterments and improvements to mitigate incidents.”

The RCMP classifies collisions into five main groups: fatal, non-fatal injury, property damage reportable, property damage non-reportable, and failure to stop or remain at the scene. They also use an “unknown” category. In 2022, there were three fatal collisions, the highest reported in the Town’s records. There are also seven key collision types. Those with increased numbers from 2021 include backing up, rear-ended, side-swiped, left turn across traffic, and object struck. Those that decreased from 2021 were t-bones and hit-and-runs.

Of the 183 incidents in 2022, there were 22 non-fatal injuries, 119 reportable property damage incidents, 17 non-reportable property damage incidents, and two unknowns, all of which increased in number from the previous year. The only category to see a decrease was failure to stop or remain at the scene, which dropped from 49 in 2021 to 20 in 2022. On average, there were 15 collisions per month through 2022; December was the highest month, with 26 incidents, which is on par with other years.

Council unanimously voted to accept the information and forward the report to the Protective Services Committee and Alberta Transportation. The Protective Services Committee regularly makes recommendations to Council to help increase safety in the community. One of their most recent recommendations, which Council passed not too long ago, is the installation of Your Speed electronic signs at the south and north entrances to Whitecourt. The signs, which will be going up soon, are similar to those in school zones, which flash a driver’s speed as they approach.