By Mike Renzella
The Haldimand Press
CAYUGA—Ever since moving to town last year, Amy Field has been considering a petition to address what she sees as a plethora of road safety and speeding issues in and around Cayuga.
“I grew up in Jarvis on Highway 3, so traffic is nothing new to me. In Cayuga we have three major roads that feed into the town, as well as two local racetracks that attract a lot of traffic,” said Field. “As a mother of two young children I want to advocate for a safer community to live in where all children and community members can cross streets without fear of being hit, leave their driveways without fearing a car accident, and live in their homes without constant noise pollution from transport trucks.”
Tyson Haedrich, General Manager of Engineering & Capital Works for the County, said that staff are well aware of resident concerns across Haldimand and have taken a number of steps to address the issue. He listed the following measures taken to address speeding concerns across the county as a whole:
- Purchasing and installing pole-mounted speed warning signs (12); Speed Spy data collectors (3); and a trailer-mounted, portable speed warning sign (1) as part of a Speed Warning Sign pilot project.
- Launching a resident survey to collect public feedback/comments on potential speed limit reductions in built up urban and rural lakeshore areas (1,100 responses received).
- Working collaboratively with the Haldimand County Police Services Board and local police to bring forward community concerns related to speeding and enforcement issues.
- Analyzing road conditions along the most populated sections of the lakeshore and assessing findings.
Those studies led to the County reducing speed limits to 40 km/h along South Coast Drive, Blue Water Parkway, Lakeshore Road, and North Shore Drive in “alignment with resident feedback, road condition evaluations, and the County speed limit policy,” said Haedrich.
Despite these measures, Field still feels unsafe commuting within her community, relaying some of her personal experiences of nearly being struck by a transport truck at a crosswalk, almost being “rear-ended multiple times pulling into my driveway, which is on Highway 3”, and at Thorburn and Highway 3, “my daughter fell while crossing the street and a car almost hit her because they were in a hurry to turn the corner.”
The petition compiles a list of suggestions Field has received since bringing her idea forward, including greater police presence, rumble strips at town entrance points, speed bumps near schools, photo radar along highways 3 and 54 plus Haldimand Road 17, and new stoplights at various strategic locations.
“The County will ultimately have to decide which measures are feasible and which are not, but the hope is that some measures are implemented to ensure a safer community for all,” said Field.
Field first told her concerns to Mayor Ken Hewitt and Councillor John Metcalfe last summer, sharing some personal information and asking how she could help her community.
“John Metcalfe took the time to educate, inform, and answer questions and concerns I had,” Field explained. She said Metcalfe confirmed speeding is a concern, that additional police presence had been requested in high traffic areas, and that while Highway 3/Talbot Street is governed by the Ministry of Transportation, he has met with them regarding additional traffic controls along the road.
Haedrich directed concerned residents to contact police with area-specific concerns related to speeding, stating that any collected data assists with enforcement.
Currently, like many other organizations, the OPP is facing staffing issues that directly impact the amount of enforcement being done at a given time.
“The County is committed to keeping roads safe and reminds residents that it is bound by legislation, provincial roadway standards, and related County policies … when it comes to implementing changes to roadways,” said Haedrich. “All proposed modifications – from signage installation to speed limit reductions – must go through detailed evaluation and analysis based on current legislation and protocols.”
Field hopes other concerned residents might take the time to sign her petition, available online at change.org. As of publication, the petition had 58 signatures.
“I believe this petition is taking a proactive approach to road safety…. As community members we need to be dedicated to this issue,” she concluded. “If the online petition does not gain enough signatures, I am willing to go door to door with more information for our community members and post signage.”