City to probe safety of west Mountain intersection where 15-year-old boy was struck and killed

Hamilton councillors have backed a motion to review the safety of a west Mountain road where a 15-year-old boy was struck and killed last month.

The motion - moved by Coun. Mike Spadafora and unanimously passed Feb. 8 - will see a strip of Upper Paradise Road near Stone Church Road West probed for safety deficiencies.

Spadafora said his first proposed motion as Ward 14 councillor was motivated by numerous" emails his office received concerning pedestrian accessibility at the high-traffic intersection, which sits close to a high school, grocery store and commercial plaza.

Those calls were amplified after the recent hit-and-run that left a St. Thomas More Catholic Secondary School student dead, he said.

Yaqoub Saeed was walking home from school when he was struck and killed by a 2008 Dodge Caliber at Upper Paradise and Stone Church on the afternoon of Jan. 11.

Hamilton police alleged another 15-year-old was behind the wheel of the Dodge that fled the crash scene. That teen was later charged with failing to remain causing death and dangerous driving causing death.

Saeed, whose funeral was attended by thousands of people, left behind two parents, six brothers and countless friends.

It's still very shocking what happened," Shirwa Geele said of his younger brother, who was remembered as a happy-go-lucky kid with a bright future.

Geele said the road safety review into Upper Paradise and Stone Church comes as welcome news - but not as a major surprise. In recent years, he said, the area near his parents' home has seen a noticeable uptick in vehicle traffic.

It's become a very a high-traffic area, much more busy than it used to be," Geele said in interview Tuesday.

Geele argued there are also too few crosswalks on Upper Paradise to cope with the increased car volume.

On the roughly one-kilometre stretch on Upper Paradise between Stone Church and Rymal roads, there are seven side streets but only one place to legally the cross the street - a crosswalk in front of St. Thomas More at Richview Drive.

I think it's amazing they're (reviewing) the area because it's near a school zone and several households," Geele said. It's unfortunate it took my brother's death to initiate it, but I'm happy they're doing the review so this doesn't happen to anyone else."

Beyond Saeed's death and mounting complaints from constituents, Spadafora cited another pedestrian crash at the intersection in late 2017 - which left one woman dead and a man seriously injured - as further reason to make the road safer.

One death is already too many," the first-time councillor said.

City staff will look to identify possible safety enhancements on Upper Paradise between Stone Church and Rymal in their review. They are expected to report their findings and recommendations to the public works committee before Sept. 30.

Sebastian Bron is a reporter at The Spectator. sbron@thespec.com