IT STRIKES US STRANGE that there are no traffic controls at three of the most perilous intersections on Highway 10 right in the heart of the town of Mono, and that the Ministry of Transportation seems loathe to discuss remedies.

Those three are at Cedar Grove Road, which is eventually to be extended west into a new subdivision already under construction; at County Road 10 (also 10 Sideroad), and at Camilla (Sideroad 15, or County 8, the Mono Centre Road).

Granted, MTO did consent long ago to a speed limit reduction between the Hockley Road and First Street intersections, and is acting on construction of a left-turning lane at 10 Sideroad, but it has now emerged that it has not responded in several years to Mono's correspondence about the perils at Camilla.

Three ladies from Camilla Women's Institute raised the issue of "hazardous conditions" at Mono Council Tuesday.

They need not have. Deputy Mayor David Baldwin did not hesitate to say that it is difficult to turn left from Mono Centre Road into Highway 10, especially at night. And Councillor Ken McGhee said it's just as difficult to turn right.

The major problem at Camilla, they said, is one of visibility. Even during the day, you can't be sure whether there's northbound traffic approaching at high speed over the rise that lies to the south of the intersection - and it gets worse when visibility is reduced at night.

The ladies had written their concerns to council earlier, and Road Superintendent Wayne Reid had again queried the ministry. He said he had been promised an e-mail comment by 11 a.m., but none had arrived when the meeting wound down.

The miracle of Camilla might be that there have been only five fender-benders at the intersection in the past four years. But that's no comfort to people trying the navigate the intersection.

Given the growth of the Camilla area, that intersection needs to be controlled before conditions worsen.