Miller & Montford/La Goma Intersection Pilot Program
Since implementation of the Miller Avenue Streetscape Improvement Project in 2017, the City has recognized the potential for additional safety enhancements and hired Kittelson & Associates to conduct assessments of the following focus areas along Miller Avenue looking to improve safety of all roadway users.
The 2025/2026 Miller Avenue Corridor Intersection Safety Study reviewed multiple crossings from Almonte Boulevard to Millwood Street. The intersections studied were presented to the public at an Open House on December 4, 2025 to obtain comments on issues observed and ideas of improvement. Comments received were taken into account when creating the designs. These were then presented to the Transportation and Mobility and Advisory Committee (TMAC) on March 23, 2026 and to the Traffic Safety Committee (TSC) on April 15, 2026 for additional comments. During the study it was noted that the intersection of Miller Avenue and Montford Avenue/La Goma Street is the highest priority for improvements.
Multiple improvements were reviewed for the intersection including a traffic signal and restricting through traffic from the side streets. The existing size of the intersection is not large enough to provide proper turning movements and restricting through traffic was advised against by Police and Fire due to delays in emergency response times.
The near-term improvement that was selected to move forward with a Pilot Program is to remove the turn lanes on Miller Avenue as seen in the image on the right. This removes a lane of travel for pedestrians to cross and reduces the number of vehicles at the intersection, making it clearer to observe which vehicle, pedestrian or bicyclist has the right of way. Buffered bike lanes are being included to prevent vehicles from crossing into bike lanes when making turns.
Our traffic consultant, Kittelson will be onsite within the first few days of the change to observe how the new traffic patterns are working. If it is obvious that the change is creating additional safety concerns the changes can be removed quickly and the right turns lanes can be returned to use.
Analysis of the Pilot Program will be completed by collecting pre and post implementation data. The pre-implementation data was collected during the Miller Avenue Intersection Safety Study. Post-implementation data will be collected at least three months after the new striping has been installed.
Results of the Pilot Program will be targeted for City Council in late 2026 or early 2027.