Gatineau residents demand road safety changes after pedestrian death

69-year old woman killed in Monday collision

Gatineau residents gathered Thursday at the intersection where a pedestrian was fatally struck by a vehicle earlier this week to grieve the victim and call for greater action to improve road safety.

Gatineau police were alerted to the intersection of rue Gamelin and boulevard Moussette just before 5 p.m. Monday. The pedestrian, a 69-year-old woman from Gatineau, was taken to hospital where she was pronounced dead. The driver of the vehicle was also taken to hospital.

Alex Cool-Fergus is one of the organizers of Thursday afternoon's rally. She said the accident has many in the neighbourhood feeling anxious.

"We don't yet know who the victim is, and so there's a lot of anxiety within the neighbourhood about who [it is]. We're a very tightly-knit neighbourhood and a lot of us bike and walk," she said.

"When you hear that a pedestrian has been hit, you just get really nervous that it's someone who you know and who you love."

Anaïs Bertrand-Dansereau is a resident of the area and attended the gathering with her daughter.

"We have a lot of bike paths, but [in] some of the bigger arteries where other people cross the neighbourhood to get to their work, to the hospital, that's where people are a bit more rushed and that's where accidents happen and we feel less safe," she said.

2 dead, 1 in critical condition after boulevard des Allumettières crash

Yves Leclerc, who lives on boulevard Moussette, said he had just gotten home from work when he heard the car hit a tree and rushed to help the driver. He was at Thursday's gathering too.

"I asked her if she could hear me, and she gave me a thumbs-up. But at that point, I didn’t yet know that she had hit a pedestrian beforehand," he said in French.

Leclerc said that many drivers pass through this intersection on their way to work.

“We need concrete changes here — traffic lights or other measures,” he said in French.

There are currently stop signs facing drivers at all four corners of the intersection.

Also at the gathering was Isabelle Cousineau, the councillor for the Parc-de-la-Montagne-Saint-Raymond district. She says the accident has shaken many in the neighbourhood, and that she knows people are looking for concrete action on the issue.

"I think it's an awful loss for our community. Our entire community is very affected by this accident and I'm really moved also to see how many people showed up today to commemorate ... the life of that person," she said.

Early Friday morning, a two-vehicle collision west of downtown Gatineau left the two drivers dead and a passenger in critical condition.

Nathan Fung is a reporter with CBC Ottawa, with a strong interest in covering municipal issues. He has previously worked as a reporter in Hamilton and Edmonton. You can reach him at nathan.fung@cbc.ca

with files from Radio-Canada's Tom Chazelle Schulze