After crash near Dofasco plant in Hamilton, area resident tells city planners: 'We feel forgotten'

Some Hamilton residents in the area north of Barton Street East, surrounding the Centre on Barton mall, are becoming increasingly concerned for their safety and that of their neighbours.

Angel Card lives at the corner of Ottawa Street North and Dalkeith Avenue, near the site of a crash Sunday where a woman and her 10-year-old son were hit by an SUV while walking, leaving them in critical condition. The driver fled on foot, prompting an ongoing investigation by police. 

Family identified the woman as Nicole Constandinides, her son as Maddox. Constandinides' husband, Sean Reid, was with them but suffered minor injuries.

Since Card started living in the area with their partner and daughter in 2016, they said there have been a number of vehicle crashes on that stretch of Ottawa Street North causing growing concern and worry among residents.

Card points to an incident just over two weeks ago where a driver drove onto the patch off grass between the road and the sidewalk. "Girls took the tree [out] that's literally only four feet from my house," they said.

"It was the exact same situation where they revved up at the tracks as a stunt and lost control," Card said, referring to what they believe also happened Sunday. 

Hamilton Police confirmed a single vehicle collision occurred on June 21, when a car struck and dragged a tree into the roadway just before 8:30 p.m. Police said a driver was arrested for impaired driving.

"Anyone who drives on that strip of Ottawa Street knows you need to slow down in order to safely drive over the hump at the tracks," Nrinder Nann, Hamilton city councillor for Ward 3 told CBC Hamilton in an email.

In a statement released Thursday, Hamilton Centre MP Matthew Green said the increase in pedestrian injuries and fatalities is "unacceptable" and "cannot continue to go unaddressed." Within hours of the statement, a 12-year-old boy waiting in a bus shelter with his family in Stoney Creek was sent to hospital after a vehicle crashed into them.

 "When people aren't safe to walk/bike down a street, or cross intersection, then it's time to admit that we are in the midst of a public safety crisis," Green wrote.

Another Ottawa Street North neighbour points to what he says is outdated street design as a factor in road safety within the area.

"Fifty years ago, there was 40,000 people working at Dofasco," said Chris Scroope, who has lived at the corner of Ottawa Street North and Dalkeith Avenue for the past five years. 

"That's why they made all the traffic signal changes here, so they can get people out of those factories." Now he estimates there are around 4,000 workers coming and in out of the location. "They haven't fixed that," he said, referring to a lack of traffic signals adjustments.

When asked about street design and safety concerns, a city of Hamilton representative told CBC Hamilton "there is not a significant amount of past injury and fatal collision history in this area," and that once more is known about the Sunday incident, "staff will determine if any further road safety measures are necessary."