Ladysmith Home Hardware launches petition to delay traffic median

Ladysmith Home Hardware has launched a petition urging the Town of Ladysmith to delay installing a planned traffic median on Ludlow Road, arguing it will hinder customer access and compromise road safety.

A temporary median is planned for this location as part of a development at 1130 Rocky Creek Rd. At its Jan. 21 meeting, Ladysmith council approved amendments removing the developer’s obligation to build a roundabout. Instead, the developer will provide alternative traffic measures and a financial contribution.

Under the amended terms, the developer is no longer required to build a roundabout at the Ludlow Road and Rocky Creek Road intersection but will contribute $200,000 toward its future construction. In the meantime, a temporary median will be installed, preventing left turns when exiting Home Hardware. 

In a Feb. 12 post on their Facebook page, Home Hardware owners Sean and Jason Dunlop said that disallowing left-hand turns out of their property would encourage customers to make unsafe, illegal U-turns. Otherwise, drivers will have to take a longer, indirect route down Transfer Beach Boulevard, which they described as narrow, poorly lit, and in poor condition. They are requesting that council delay the median’s installation until the roundabout is built.

The Dunlops stressed that they are not against this development and welcome new businesses to town.  

“We are excited to see the town grow and welcome new residents that will call Ladysmith home,” the post read.

The Dunlops say they were not adequately consulted and want council to reconsider the median’s timing. They are encouraging residents to sign their petition in-store or express their concerns directly to council.

“Unfortunately, we just found out about the median when the public hearing signs went up a few weeks ago,” their public post on Facebook read. “We would have been happy to provide some insight to the traffic pattern on this side of the tracks, but we were never asked. We did attend the council meeting, prepared a statement and expressed our concerns, but no one listened. We’ve set up multiple meetings with the town and have had little luck with representatives understanding the concerns we are trying to convey. So here we are. All we are asking is that a median not be installed until there is a roundabout to effectively handle the traffic flow safely.”

The debate centres on timing. Until a roundabout is built, the Dunlops assert that adding a median will create more traffic issues than it solves. However, the median will be required once traffic access opens to the Rocky Creek Road development to prevent conflicting turns — right from the new shopping centre and left from Home Hardware.

A statement from Acting Mayor Tricia McKay said, "The median is an essential traffic safety feature that will be necessary when the access for the proposed development at 1130 Rocky Creek Road is constructed. The median will also be required when the roundabout is constructed. The median is one of several traffic safety measures designed to prevent collisions between vehicles using Ludlow Road, the Home Hardware access, and the new 1130 Rocky Creek Road access."

Council’s Jan. 21 decision now awaits provincial approval by the Ministry of Transportation and Transit, while Home Hardware continues to rally public support and push for a delay.