Speed reductions, expenditures approved
Clearview council debated the reduction of speed limits once again during a very long meeting Monday, the discussion going past 11 p.m.
To recap, council had approved speed reductions on some roads in response to residents’ concerns but voted to remove the cost of the speed signs from the budget, leaving the implementation in limbo. Staff then found the money in the budget to proceed with the installation of signs, which was supposed to be the topic of debate on Monday, but council ended up hashing out details of the speed reductions.
In a 5-3 split, council voted to reduce the speed to 60 km/hr on portions of Concession 10, Fairgrounds Road and Riverside Drive/Concession 6.
Councillors voting nay (Robert Walker, John Broderick and Mayor Doug Measures) expressed concerns about the inconsistencies of speeds on through corridors and opposition from the public who have been vocal about the impact the speed limits will have on businesses operating in the township.
The issue has divided those in favour of lowering speeds to deter wayfinding apps from routing people through certain corridors en route to Blue Mountain, Wasaga Beach and other destination outside of Clearview, and those who believe local roads are safe with the existing posted speed limits.
Councillor Thom Paterson is in support of the lowered speed limits.
“Sometimes it’s tough to make decisions against popular opinion but, like we said at the beginning, this is all about making our roads safer,” he said, rallying support from his fellow council members. “We are accountable to make these roads safer when we recognize that something needs to be done.”
An initial traffic study recommended lowering the posted speed limit from 80 km/hr to 70 km/hr on portions of six roads – 36/37 Sideroad from County Road 124 to Concession 6; 27/28 Sideroad from Highway 26 to Concession 6; Creemore Avenue from County Road 9 to Concession 7; Hogback Road; Concession 10 from 33/34 Sideroad to Poplar Sideroad; and Lavender Hill Road. With council’s additional input, RJ Burnside senior transportation engineer Henry Centen later proposed revising the recommendation to lower the speed limit to 60 km/hr to address alignment constraints for multi-modal travel on Riverside Drive and Concession 6 Nottawasaga south of 15/16 Sideroad, Fairgrounds Road, all of Concession 10; 36/37 Sideroad from Concession 6 to 1.4 km west of Concession 6 (retain 50 km/hr through Nottawa to 1.4 km west of County Road 124), from 1.4 km west of County Road 124 to Concession 10 (retain 80 km/hr to the west of Concession 10); and reduce the speed limit to 70 km/hr on Concession 5 from 6/7 Sideroad to Caroline Street to address horizontal and vertical curves. Gord Zeggil is amongst those opposing the speed reduction. He sent a letter to council asking them to defer Monday’s vote saying that council has not followed its own traffic calming policy and that the traffic counts used as a basis to the study are flawed because the initial counts were taken during a lockdown and during a period of construction. He points out the not apply to arterial roads as they are intended to serve higher traffic volumes.
The four resolutions passed at the March 7 council meeting are:
Resolution 1:
Moved by Councillor Dineen, Seconded by Councillor McKechnie, Be It Resolved that Council of the Township of Clearview hereby:
Receive report PW-007-2022 (Speed Reduction of Various Roads) dated March 7, 2022; and,
Approve reducing the speed limit on Concession 10 Nottawasaga from 80km/hr to 60 km/hr from County Road 124 to County Road 91 and from 30/31 Sideroad to the town limits (County Road 32/Poplar Sideroad) to address vertical alignment and cross section constraints for multi-modal travel by directing staff to present the speed reduction bylaw at the next council meeting; and,
That the expenditure in the amount of $15,504.42 to reduce the speed on the road be funded through the Public Works Capital Budget for Traffic Control Devices. Motion carried.
Resolution 2:
Moved by Councillor Paterson, Seconded by Councillor Lamers, Be It Resolved that Council of the Township of Clearview hereby:
Approves reducing the speed limit on Fairgrounds Road from 80km/hr to 60 km/hr from County Road 9 to County Road 91 and from 33/34 Side Road to the town limits (Beachwood Road) to address vertical alignment and cross section constraints for multi-modal travel by directing staff to present the speed reduction bylaw at the next council meeting; and,
That the expenditure in the amount of $18,551.64 to reduce the speed on the road be funded through the Public Works Capital Budget for Traffic Control Devices. Motion carried.
Resolution 3:
Moved by Councillor Paterson, Seconded by Councillor McKechnie, Be It Resolved that Council of the Township of Clearview hereby:
Approves reducing the speed limit on Riverside Drive from 70km/hr to 60km/hr from County Road 9 to 15/16 Sideroad and Concession 6 North from County Road 91 for 1.1 km be reduced from 80 km/hr to 60 km/hr and from where the 50km/hr zone ends to the Poplar Side Road be changed from 80 km/hr to 60 km/hr, to address horizontal alignment constraints, by directing staff to present the speed reduction bylaw at the next council meeting; and,
That the expenditure in the amount of $11,854.00 to reduce the speed on the road be funded through the Public Works Capital Budget for Traffic Control Devices. Motion carried.
Resolution 4:
Moved by Councillor Lamers, Seconded by Councillor Paterson, Be It Resolved that Council of the Township of Clearview hereby:
Prioritize the following roads in 2023 based on the approved budget for the year, to implement recommendations from the Township’s Transportation Assessment Study:
• Hogback Road (speed reduction)
• Concession 5 Nottawasaga (speed reduction)
• 36/37 Sideroad (speed reduction)
• 12/13 Sideroad (speed reduction)
• Lavender Hill Road (speed reduction).
Motion carried.
