Some citizens in Montreal's Lachine borough want to see a stop sign put back at a busy three-way intersection, after a 56-year-old man was seriously injured trying to cross St-Jacques Street last month.

The intersection of St-Jacques and Boyer Avenue used to have the stop sign, a crosswalk and blinking red light, all aimed at keeping pedestrians safe in a busy commercial and residential neighbourhood.

But Transports Québec (MTQ) took down the stop sign in 2015 to keep east-west traffic flowing during the Turcot Interchange reconstruction project.

"I really don't know why they did that, just to accommodate the traffic," said local resident Daniel Favron. "They take care of the cars, but they don't take care of human life."

"We are so lucky to not have more accidents there," said Richard Lussier, who has owned the barbershop on Boyer Avenue, just steps from the intersection, for years.

"One is too much, but we are lucky to only have one."

Richard Lussier, the long-time owner of a barbershop on Boyer, shares his concerns about the intersection with Lachine Mayor Maja Vodanovic on Tuesday. (CBC)

Lussier said he's seen a spike in traffic since the Turcot project began, but it's tapering off now that new on and off-ramps for the interchange have opened.

He said he wants to see the stop sign go back up, to slow down the constant stream of vehicles racing through the densely packed neighbourhood of Ville Saint-Pierre.

The MTQ also removed a stop sign at the Duranceau Avenue intersection, two blocks east of Boyer Avenue, and another was instead installed between Boyer and Duranceau at du Chalet Avenue.

But pedestrians continue to cross at Boyer to get to their bus stop or businesses on the other side of the road.

Pedestrians often don't bother to walk to the next block to cross at a stop sign. Instead, they continue to cross St-Jacques Street at Boyer Avenue, locals say. (CBC)

Lachine borough Mayor Maja Vodanovic said the city is in touch with the MTQ, pushing for safety improvements.

"Of course, we're going to be looking at how we can make it safer," she said. "I'm just sorry it didn't happen before."

Going back to what was there five years ago, the stop sign and a flashing light, may not be the best solution, she said.

"Maybe we need to find something better," she said.

Lachine could have flagged issue: MTQ

Transports Québec has the right to reconfigure Montreal streets to mitigate the impact of highway construction projects on traffic flow, but MTQ spokesperson Sarah Bensadoun says the municipality needs to flag issues or concerns as soon as they arise.

"When we have to change something in terms of signs that aren't in our network, we discuss it with the borough or the city. In this case, we advised both of them," Bensadoun said.

"If there is a security problem, we're definitely going to look into it. We're not going to wait until the end of the project."