Residents want solutions, but not rumble strips
Local residents agree that two intersections of County Road 9 east of Airport Road have become very problematic but don’t want rumble strips as part of the solution.
Residents living at the County Road 9 intersections of Centre Line Road and 3/4 Sideroad Sunnidale told council members July 24 that they are tired of hearing the distinct sounds of crashing vehicles and screeching tires from the multitude of near misses.
Councillor Marty Beelen was the first on scene of a July 18 crash at the corner of County Road 9 and the 3/4 Sideroad and says for days he could still smell and taste the residue from the airbag that had deployed when a vehicle collided with a street sweeper.
He had already filed a notice of motion to investigate the installation of rumble strips at the intersections Along County Road 9, which will be debated and voted on at the August 14 council meeting.
There had been several other collisions in the vicinity in the month of July alone.
Community members have been attempting to figure out why collisions are on the increase. They say northbound travellers are being routed by GPS along Centre Line Road as an alternative route to Airport Road and although most take care to stop at the stop sign, others blow through or gun it into the oncoming County Road 9 traffic.
Brenda Switzer, a 50-year resident of the intersection of County Road 9 and Centre Line Road, said the intersection has been a humdinger lately.
She said she has seen vehicles overshoot the intersection and come onto her yard. She told council that something needs to be done before someone is killed but she feels that rumble strips are not the answer.
“To me, it’s like penalizing the taxpayers around our area, to have to put up with more noise other than the blowing horns, the screeching tires, the crashes,” Switzer told council Monday.
Rumble strips create an audible warning that a stop sign is ahead, but can also be heard by residents in the vicinity.
Several residents asked council to consider speed bumps or speed tables, flashing lights, a speed reduction on the approach to the intersection, and signage as an alternative.
Jacey Sampson also lives at the corner of County Road 9 and Centre Line Road said she doesn’t believe rumble strips would be a deterrent. She took a video of a collision on July 23 which shows a vehicle following another vehicle into the intersection, seemingly without checking for oncoming traffic.
“The only thing that is going to deter these types of drivers on Centre Line that we are seeing is [police presence],” said Sampson.
She reported witnessing a Jeep full of young people travelling southbound – with one person laying on the roof while their friends were filming – blow the stop sign narrowly missing a collision.
Beelen said he will most likely table an amendment to his motion to include investigating alternatives, and went so far as to suggest that 3/4 Sideroad revert to a gravel road as a way of slowing down traffic and deterring GPS from sending drivers on that road.
Staff is working with the County of Simcoe to get up to date traffic counts for the intersection during what residents report are peek times, mainly Friday and Sunday evenings.
Traffic counts on the municipal roads have yet to be completed for this year.
“Everyone agrees that the traffic volumes have increased on [Centre Line Road],” said Mayor Doug Measures.
