Clifford Ottaway feels it’s just a matter of time before a pedestrian is seriously injured, or worse, on Wigamog Road.
The Dysart et al resident delivered a petition signed by 60 people to council recently, calling for the establishment of a community safety zone (CSZ) along a 2.5 kilometre stretch of the rural thoroughfare. Ottaway said over the past 10 years there has been a substantial increase in the number of people residing on the road, leading to increased traffic.
Despite attempts by the township to slow vehicles, including placement of digital radar signs in recent summers, Ottaway said speeding remains a major issue.
By implementing a CSZ, the posted speed limit would drop from 50 to 40 km/h. He said there are several jurisdictions in Ontario using them as a traffic-slowing tool in the hopes of improving road safety. Ingoldsby has had one for several years, while Minden Hills recently established CSZs along Water Street and Bobcaygeon Road.
“There are a number of criteria used [for determining] CSZ… one of those is if a road is less than 8.5 metres across. This segment is less than six metres across,” Ottaway said. “There’s no sidewalk on either side, which is another criteria. And there are two or more curves within a short distance, which also applies.
“We ask council to seriously consider this… and I would ask this be done in an expeditious manner, because the road gets a lot busier with pedestrian traffic in the summer. In high season… there will be a lot of people on that road in danger,” he added.
Coun. Nancy Wood-Roberts said she has lobbied for a CSZ along Wigamog Road for years. West Guilford-area coun. Carm Sawyer feels the issues expressed are similar to what he hears from residents of Green Lake Road, saying he gets speed-related complaints regularly.
Sawyer believes this issue boils down to a lack of police enforcement.
“At the end of the day it doesn’t matter what signs we put up, if the OPP don’t enforce it nothing will change. What you’re saying is a great idea, but it’s not going to slow people down,” he said.
Public works director, Rob Camelon, urged council not to rush into a decision it may later regret.
“My concern is if we designate Wigamog Road as a CSZ, we’ve literally set a precedent for every other municipal road in the township. I don’t think that’s what council wants,” Camelon said.
He noted the County is currently working on a blanket policy that would establish consistent criteria for CSZs across the four lower-tier townships, which he’s supportive of.
Coun. Tammy Donaldson said she’s seen photo radar work as a speed deterrent in other areas and wondered if that could be an option. Camelon said automated enforcement is typically done via a contract with a third party, which takes a cut of tickets issued. He said there is little cost to the township.
Deputy mayor Walt McKechnie liked the idea. “I think we should make this an example. Get one of the cameras and try it… we can’t just keep kicking the can around. If this will save someone from getting hurt, we’ve got [to do it].”
Camelon noted the cameras automatically take a photo of license plates of vehicles travelling over the speed limit, even if it’s only by one km/h. When mayor Murray Fearrey said he didn’t want to see people punished for such a negligible encroachment, Camelon replied, “speed limits are not suggestions.”
The director will investigate options for photo radar and bring recommendations, as well as an update on the County’s CSZ process, to a future meeting.
