WELLINGTON – As calls for increased speed enforcement continue across the county, new Black Cat speed monitoring data shows there are more factors at play at a collision-prone intersection than speed.
Presented during the police services board committee Wednesday morning, the detachment commander's year-end report included an update on Black Cat devices deployed by the OPP across Wellington County last year as a way to address community concerns about traffic safety.
Deployed to 30 locations where speeding concerns were identified, five were placed in Centre Wellington, seven in Guelph/Eramosa, two in Wellington North, two in Minto, five in Erin, two in Mapleton and seven in Puslinch.
Of the areas reviewed, 15 locations were flagged as ideal spots for enhanced enforcement as a way to reduce ongoing safety issues through visibility, presence and enforcement.
Rolled out in November, 113 charges have been handed out since the end of December as a result of the program with Wellington Road 7 in Mapleton and Concession 1 in Puslinch making up at least half of that figure.
However, Wellington Road 19 and Wellington Road 21 in Centre Wellington and Brock Road in Puslinch – all locations with collision histories surpassing 20 over the last five years – were among those not flagged to receive enhanced enforcement.
According to Wellington County OPP detachment commander Steve Thomas, this is likely because while many of these locations had the highest recorded collisions, speeding is often only one piece of the puzzle and other factors not directly related to policing like road design and traffic calming are also important to consider when it comes to a motor vehicle collisions.
The top three causes of motor vehicle collisions in Wellington County in 2023 were animals, following too close and failure to yield while speeding made up the majority of traffic offences.
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.
