Three Rivers council works with province to tackle traffic on Montague's Main Street

Driving along Main Street in Montague can be trying for drivers at times, with parts of it prone to getting congested, says Three Rivers Mayor Debbie Johnston.

She said the area is a busy hub given the presence of two supermarkets, the Down East Mall and many businesses. The town's growing population also contributes to the road woes.

"To try to get back out into traffic if you're turning left is very difficult — and oftentimes people try to come out and they'll nearly get hit with the oncoming traffic," Johnston told Island Morning host Laura Chapin.

Also, the drive-thru restaurants in that area can have long line-ups trickling back out onto Main Street, particularly during the morning and noon peak hours. Sometimes drivers have to swerve over into the left lane to get around the jammed areas, she said.

"That definitely creates a traffic hazard there and an accident waiting to happen."

Now the Town of Three Rivers is working with the provincial government in an attempt to solve some of the traffic troubles. Main Street is part of Route 4 and is provincially managed, so it's up to provincial transportation officials to approve and make whatever changes are agreed upon.

Upgraded traffic lights coming

About a year ago, Three Rivers council asked provincial officials for an evaluation of the trouble spots. Councillors got a first look at the traffic study at a meeting earlier this week.

Better synchronized traffic lights on Main Street should help ease some of the congestion, says Stephen Yeo, the province's chief engineer.

"It'll certainly be an improvement," he said.

At the moment, when people heading in the direction of the Montague River stop by the Down East Mall for a red light, after it turns green they risk another red light at the intersection of Main Street and Queens Road. This adds to the probability that traffic will back up.

Yeo said upgraded traffic light controllers should be in place by July 1, so that people won't be facing two red lights in a row "90 per cent of the time."

About 6,000 vehicles drive this section of Route 4 on an average day, increasing to 8,000 a day in the peak summer months, Yeo said.

As for the issue of drive-thru traffic getting backed up out onto Main Street, Yeo said his department will be speaking with restaurant owners in the area about how to fit more drive-thru customer vehicles onto their own property.

"We'll have to have discussions and see what options there [are]," he said.

Johnston pointed out that one business in the area has already added a second drive-thru route to try to improve capacity and keep cars from getting backed up onto Route 4.

This issue won't likely get solved by the coming summer, Yeo said, because it'll take time for those businesses to improve their parking lot capacity.

"That won't happen overnight, but certainly we'll keep monitoring the situation and see how we can improve other areas as well through Montague."