Will it take a tragic accident to get town council to take action the ever-growing traffic issues along River Heights Drive?

River Heights Dr. resident Peter Lantos hopes not.

"I really do hate to say it, but I think it might take a child getting injured for the town to take action," says Lantos.

Lantos is one of the people who has been lobbying the town for James Walker Trail to be completed before development gets underway in Southbow Landing. But he's also pushing for ways to calm the speed of traffic along the densely population River Heights Drive right now.

He's been working alongside Riversong resident Dana Fenech in the pursuit.

"We've had several a number of discussions with some of the senior admin people with town council," says Lantos. "They say all the right things, but they don't do anything. So how long does it take to do something?

He's recently penned a letter to all town councillors on the topic in advance of the public hearing of land-use amendments for Southbow Landing.

Even if the entire extension of James Walker Trail is required to be completed when development gets underway in Southbow Landing, it will take time to complete. Lantos believes there are actions that could be taken now, first and foremost making the entire River Heights Dr. a 30-km zone. Currently, the 30 kph zone begins at the Bow Valley High School heading northbound into the Precedence and Riviera neighbourhoods.

Lantos can't understand why it's the only residential street in Cochrane with a 50 kph speed limit, despite being used by over 6,000 vehicles daily.

He is disappointed by the lack of response from councillors.

"Two councillors responded," says Lantos. "They're aware of the problems, they're aware of the situation, but we've heard that for 18 months now. There's been a lot of lip service on the issue."

He believes if councillor gave the thumbs up, the change could occur almost immediately.

"There are five signs between Bow Valley High School and the 7-11 Esso station with a 50-kilometre sign," points out Lantos. "How much effort could it possibly take to change that to 30?"

He's also calling for a larger presence of peace officers, more radar speed signs, and possibly even speed bumps to slow the traffic.

He's not the only one asking for more speed control. It's a common topic among residents. Many have shared their horror stories of close calls and speed-crazed drivers. Most believe that more patrols are needed, especially during peak traffic hours when people are rushing to and from work or school.

Clearly, the traffic woes will only get worse without further calming measures. Lantos rattles off a list of projects currently underway or that will soon begin.

"If you think about it, there's still probably at least 50 homes being built in in Precedence, there's 75 new townhomes that are being built on the corner of River Heights Dr. and Riviera Way, there's 400 condo units going in on River Heights Dr. just 100 metres west of Riviera Way, Rivercrest is being built right now as we speak, there's another 105 townhomes that are being proposed for the wetlands area, and the willows are still building new homes."

And then there's traffic from the Fireside neighbourhood on the other side of Hwy. 22, also growing rapidly, plus traffic to the SLS Centre and the soon to be developed commercial area in Greystone, which includes a new grocery store.

"So, we have all this development going on right now or in the very, very near future and still nothing has been done to rectify not only the volume but also the speeding along River Heights Drive. Plus, a lot of the people who live off of off of River Heights Dr. have complained to us that they can't get on to River Heights Dr. to turn left or right because of the constant flow of traffic."

river heights intersectionThe current intersection of River Heights Dr. and Rivercrest Dr.

One thing that has occurred is town council's approval of traffic lights on the River Heights/Rivercrest intersection. It's expected to be installed this year.