By Adam Prudhomme
Staff Reporter
Greater Napanee council has asked town staff to explore the cost of purchasing two electronic speed signs to remind motorists to slow down as they resort to side streets to avoid construction.
That was the mayor’s solution to a request from homeowners on Bridge Street who wanted the speed limit dropped from 50 kilometres per hour to 40 kph, which was presented during last Tuesday’s regular meeting. A petition signed by several Bridge Street home owners cited safety concerns as an increase in traffic detoured from Dundas Street meant more motorists speeding through their neighbourhood. The petition stated numerous anecdotal instances of witnesses claiming to watch cars speeding through the area, so much to the point that some owners found it difficult to back out of their driveway and onto the road. The safety of children playing in the area was also listed as a concern for residents.
Prior to the meeting, Mayor Gord Schermerhorn requested some information from the OPP to see if the stats backed up those claims. The numbers showed in a time period searched from Aug. 1, 2016 to July 31, 2017, there were 14 collisions on Bridge Street, though speed was not listed a factor in any of them.
“What the summary shows is that the vast majority of these collisions were intersection related and involved a contributing factor of inattentiveness,” said Schermerhorn. “Speed, in excess or under, or weather conditions at the time were not reported as being a factor in these 14 incidents. It tells me, at least in the OPP’s opinion, that speed did not cause these 14 incidents on Bridge Street.”
Schermerhorn pointed to the data and also commented that if they were to lower the speed limit on Bridge Street they could possibly be inundated with requests to lower the speed on other side roads. It was for those reasons he wouldn’t support lowering Bridge Street to a 40 kph zone.
Instead, Schermerhorn put forward a successful motion that the town look into purchasing two signs that measure a driver’s speed and then flashes the speed onto a large screen, reminding drivers to slow down if they are over the limit. The signs would be put on Bridge and Centre Streets. He also added that they would contact the OPP and ask that they increase their surveillance of the area.