Speeding vehicles our biggest problem
Residents are fed up with fast drivers, but councillors aren't sure what to do
Frustrated Trent Hills councillors say the No. 1 complaint they hear from residents is about speeding drivers, but there seems to be little that can be done to slow them down.
The discussion about speeding occurred during the Oct. 8 meeting when councillors looked at a radar report for Godolphin Road at Pine Court from August 17-24. The report, generated by a radar unit that tracks speeds but doesn’t issue tickets, found that 1,483 of the 3,835 vehicles were speeding over the 50 km/h limit. The fastest was going 118 km/h.
Councillor Rick English noted that the location is at the southern end of Godolphin Rd. so many drivers heading from Warkworth go even faster further north where the limit is 70 km/h.
“We can’t just slough this off to the OPP for enforcement,” English said.
“We’ve got to find something, not just put up signs,” agreed Councillor Dennis Savery. “The roads are not meant for these speeds.”
“What can we do?” Councillor Daniel Giddings asked Neil Allanson, Manger of Roads and Urban Services. “What are the options to encourage people not to speed?”
Giddings asked whether the municipality had considered bollards or pylons that narrow the road and encourage people to slow down.
Allanson said most roads in the municipality are too narrow for such an option. Mayor Bob Crate said the county had tried them in a couple of locations but found they interfered with farming vehicles and were overrun by wagons and combines.
English mentioned efforts to slow drivers on Trent Drive and lauded the use of a radar and signage that tells drivers their speed.
“Anytime I drive by there I look and see how fast I’m doing,” he said. “I think people really pay heed to it.”
Not to disagree with a councillor, but I often bike or run along Trent Drive and I rarely see anyone slow when their speeding rate is shown. Last week, I was riding my bike and hitting 20 km/h when a pickup zipped by at 61 as we passed the radar unit. The 40 km/h limit is marked with larger than usual signs that are tough to miss.
Traffic bumps were tried on Trent Drive but they have to be removed during the winter to allow snow removal.
“People just speed up between the bumps, so you get speed and extra engine noise,” Allanson said.
Councillor Rob Pope, who is the municipal representative on the county-wide OPP board, said there are 20 to 30 areas in the municipality that the OPP knows have the same problem as Godolphin Rd.
He noted that Concession 11, which was subject to an earlier radar report, is probably worse than Godolphin. “We need to find out some way to manage it all,” Pope said.
“The biggest concern we hear from residents is the speeding on the road,” English said. “That’s what I’m getting at: Is there something more that this municipality could be doing?”
Savery suggested more signs are needed to alert drivers that the limit is 50 km/h unless otherwise posted.
Allanson said all major roads and intersections have such signs.
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Police exposure and enforcement will go a long way to help reduce speeding.
I think asking people to drive 50 km (30mph) on a major north south artery like Godolphin Road is just asking for people to misbehave. The entire route should be 70-80 kph (45-50 mph) with reduced speed zones in dangerous places such as the section heading south past the 8th to the top of the big hill or at the hill by Maiden's Mill.
People who buy properties on a busy north south artery should not be surprised when people drive quickly past their homes. They aren't living in town, so they shouldn't expect in town speed zones.
Nor is Godolphin a side street. It shouldn't be restricted to unrealistic speeds outside of the village. If the municipality wants people to drive better, they should identify dangerous places on the road and place signage accordingly. People don't respond well to paternalistic directions. However if you give them signage that identifies specific problem areas, drivers can become accustomed to slowing down for them, better driving can be encouraged and accidents avoided. I'm just saying council needs to work with local drivers to make the roads safer rather than treating us like children even if it flies in the face of conventional wisdom. If you want to change behaviour with signage, make it sensible so that people get on board with it.