Increasing traffic along Crescent Road has led to concerns for some Portage la Prairie residents. Lorne Henry led a delegation to city council on Monday night, outlining his frustrations with the traffic along that stretch of road. With many drivers using Crescent Road to bypass the traffic lights on Saskatchewan, Henry says those with driveways leading onto the road often have an incredibly difficult time leaving due to the number of vehicles. He also says traffic using that stretch can often make quite a bit of noise, noting some of the smaller vehicles that accelerate quickly can make much more noise than a semi.

Those concerns don't just focus on the aesthetics of the area, but also safety. Henry says it's not uncommon for students to walk along sidewalk along the south side of the road, but they need to cross back north to get home. He says with traffic going often 50 to 60 kilometres per hour, he's concerned for their safety.

While Henry has no shortage of concerns with the situation, he says the solution should be fairly simple. He's requesting the city reduce the speed limit along that road to 40 kilometres per hour, and put three additional stop signs in place. He feels that wouldn't only slow traffic down, but would also see an overall reduction in the number of vehicles using that road.

"The idea is that --and we can't get them all-- but our idea is to get a lot of the cars on the avenue, and that's close to where the businesses are. That's our main idea, to get us back our residential street as best as we can."

Henry says the road is a prime location, and the homeowners along the Crescent take great pride in their properties. He feels the street's quiet atmosphere, and value are being threatened, now that the road's being treated as a main route for many motorists.

"We have high taxes because we have lake frontage, and always have. We face the golfcourse, the park, and all this stuff, and now it's become a cross-town highway, and it's dangerous."

Council indicated they'd consider the request, and stated they were already looking at the option of introducing a few new crosswalks in that area. However, Henry feels that may make the area safer for pedestrians, but won't address the concerns of the property owners along the lake.

Henry says he's not the only one concerned about the increased traffic, noting one resident discussed the issue with several Crescent Road homeowners and a vast majority were in support of their request.