CENTRE WELLINGTON – Centre Wellington staff will be looking into the feasibility and cost of increased traffic calming measures — including photo radar.
Coun. Neil Dunsmore put this motion forward after hearing from a delegation about a resident’s issue with aggressive traffic in Fergus at Tuesday’s committee of the whole meeting.
Dana Donovan spoke on behalf of the Millburn Boulevard community about the traffic problems they see.
He had a list of him with around 50 names of those on the street who agreed with him that speeding vehicles is a serious issue there.
With the amount of young children and high school students walking to nearby Centre Wellington District High School, he said it’s “just a matter of time before someone gets seriously hurt.”
He asked for consideration for speed bumps, increased police presence or automated speed enforcement cameras — better known as photo radar.
Mayor Kelly Linton noted this is likely the most common complaint he hears about and acknowledged the township recognized Millburn as a problem area.
Linton explained the county is currently working on a roads master action plan (RMAP) to consistently address speeding concerns through actions which may include traffic calming, school and community safety zones, and photo radar.
Colin Baker, managing director of infrastructure, said while photo radar roll-out has been seen more in larger municipalities, they do appear to be effective based on what he’s read.
While there is discussion between the county and township on photo radar, Baker explained implementation is not an easy process.
“The cameras are quite expensive as you can imagine, they get vandalized as well quite frequently, they’re just sitting on the road,” Baker said.
“There’s a notice period that needs to be provided as well...and then there’s this whole administrative back-end as well, getting access to the ability to issue tickets.”
Dunsmore put a motion forward to have township and county staff come up with a study on the use of photo radar and definition of school and community safety zones.
“I don’t want residents of this community to think we’re punting the ball on this,” he said.
CAO Andy Goldie pointed out school and community safety zones are defined by the province and restated that the township is working with the county on the RMAP.
He also noted the 2022 draft budget has identified some funding for initial traffic calming measures in traffic hotspots.
Dunsmore simplified the motion to look at feasibility and budget impacts into traffic calming measures, including photo radar, so they ultimately know what the cost of it would be.
This motion was passed unanimously.
