Council defers decision on roadside memorials

Brandon City Council has deferred a new policy that could replace roadside memorials with city-made commemorative plaques to a meeting later this month.

Makeshift memorials on the side of a road can be a safety issue, a city planner said at Monday’s regular council meeting.

The new policy would mean bronze plaques could be placed near the crash site as a permanent memorial to the person who died. It would allow the city to remove items such as flowers, personal items and decorations once the plaque is placed.

The proposed plaque reads “drive safely” and says “in memory of (name)” with the date of the person’s death, along with a city logo, Sam van Huizen, the city’s traffic and transportation planner, said Monday afternoon.

“The thought was, how do we graciously memorialize those who have lost their lives in traffic collisions, especially those who are vulnerable road users?” van Huizen said.

At Monday’s meeting, Coun. Kris Desjarlais (Ward 2) asked how long flowers and sentimental objects should be allowed to be near the site, as the city wants to avoid a situation similar to what happened at the Brandon Municipal Cemetery last month.

The city apologized after it took down personal items at the cemetery without notice under the provisions of a bylaw. The bylaw hadn’t been followed in years, leading many loved ones to leave items at gravesites.

Council decided to defer a decision to its Dec. 15 meeting because of Desjarlais’ concerns.

“Maybe we want to give people some time,” he said.

The plaques, which would normally be six inches high by 12 inches wide, would be fixed to traffic poles near the site of a crash.

“Certainly, we can’t stop people from putting things in the right way, but (the policy would) allow us to remove things while also offering a sensitive and compassionate memorial,” van Huizen said.

Under the proposed policy, the plaques would be placed and paid for by the city “upon request by the families of victims.”

The policy also highlights what items at memorials could be removed.

“All personal items, flowers, or decorations shall be removed from the site once the permanent memorial is put in place,” the policy reads.

Brandon Mayor Jeff Fawcett on Monday afternoon said while he hopes that the policy would never have to be utilized, it would be good to have it in place.

“It gives some recognition for family and things like that,” Fawcett said before Monday’s meeting. “It’s trying to be as respectful as possible.”

Fawcett has heard community complaints about makeshift memorials in the past, which can be a distraction for drivers.

The Brandon policy would be similar to the province’s policy for highways.

Coun. Jason Splett (Ward 8), who is part of the vision zero committee, which focuses on reducing collisions and started the review, said some memorials, like giant posters, can hinder people’s vision. That in turn can make another crash even more likely to happen.

“It’s a good thing to do going forward. It won’t be as big a distraction as maybe other things placed for other motorists,” Splett told the Sun before the meeting. “I think we need to make sure that we’re mindful of other motorists as well, because we definitely don’t want a second accident at those places.”

He said without regulations, the site “could turn into quite an ornate area.”

“This kind of gives recognition for the loss, but also kind of keeps it toned down to some effect.”

Van Huizen told the Sun before the meeting that the review came after the death of a 15-year-old Vincent Massey student in a vehicle-cyclist collision two years ago.

The multiple memorials set up for Antoine Sutherland near the crosswalk at the corner of McDiarmid Drive and Victoria Avenue were triggering the crosswalk’s sensors, he said.

The plaques would cost less than $1,000 each, van Huizen said.

In cases where there is no pole at the site to mount a plaque, the city would instead make a white wooden cross or white wooden stake no taller than one metre.

James Epp, a Brandon resident who spoke at Monday’s meeting, said the wooden cross or wooden stake is a religious symbol, and can be exclusionary.

“Is council being respectful of persons of all faiths with an exclusionary policy?” Epp asked.

He said if the city is going to model its policy after the provincial one, it should actually be modelled in a similar way.

“Don’t reinvent the wheel, use what’s working,” he said.

Ryan Nickel, the city’s director of planning and buildings, said the cross or stake was just an “alternative” if no post was available. The city tried to “mirror” the provincial policy as close as it could, he said.

“It wasn’t meant to be exclusionary, it’s just an option if there isn’t a piece of public infrastructure available,” Nickel told council before the matter was deferred.

» alambert@brandonsun.com