Council makes an unsafe U-turn

 In Letters, Opinion

Editor:
I do not know for sure what the best speed limit might be on our many roads. It’s a complex issue and council smartly hired experts to conduct a thorough review.
The experts made a number of recommendations to improve safety, many of which were however beyond the short-term fiscal capacity of our township such as “paved shoulders for ATVs and cyclists”.
The review showed that on some of our rural roads, the speeds frequently exceed 100 km/hr. There is plenty of evidence that slower speeds are safer on almost any type of roadway, and the review specifically mentioned the extra challenge posed by “significant horizontal and vertical curves,” and we do have plenty of those in Clearview!
The review proposed traffic calming measures including better markings as well as speed limit and warning signs as a potential short-term solution. Council agreed and approved slower speeds and better signage on a number of our roads. 
The amount required to proceed was less than 0.1 per cent of the annual budget for the township or $50,000, a very affordable solution to make our roads safer.
Unfortunately, this smart safety fix will not happen any time soon. For this we can thank Deputy Mayor Burton “who was swayed by petitions, correspondence and a delegation of residents,” none of whom are likely to be experts in the field.
When the next preventable accident occurs on our roads, I wonder if councillors will swiftly offer to meet with the family of the victim to explain why they each chose this course of action to save a meagre 0.1 per cent of the budget. I suspect not. There would be no good justification to offer those families.
Good government involves respecting expertise and not making sudden changes in direction based on the opinions of the few. I want to thank councillors McKechnie and Paterson for their valiant attempt at promoting good governance and accountability. This is a difficult and thankless task.
G. Tardif,
Creemore.

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