When county council moved to make the Ponsonby Public School area a 60km/hour speed zone on County Road 7, there were some immediate complaints from drivers.
Councillor Walter Trachsel told council that he suspected the signs warning of a reduced speed zone were too close to the zone itself, and he feared police were using the area as a means of wracking up easy speeding tickets.
But the county roads committee heard from engineer Gord Ough on the subject at one of its last meetings of 2008. Ough told the committee that he had checked the distance between the warning signs for reduced speed to the place where the 60km/hour speed limit started.
Ough said that the distance is what the Ministry of Transportation calls for in its regulations.
Councillors indicated people using that road will have to be aware that the speed limit drops near the school zone.
Council placed the lower limit on the road last year because there no streetlights in the area, little parking at the school, a large number of events are held at the school at night, and the higher speed limit makes the roads unsafe for pedestrians. A woman was killed the previous year when walking on the road after an event at the school.
Ough also presented the committee with a report about the possibility of using flashing signs in school zone areas with reduced speed limits.
“The estimated cost per school zone is $10,000,” he wrote.
And, Ough added, “Certainly it should be expected that if one such installation occurs, many more will be requested.”
Ough said the intent of such signs is to “grab the attention of motorists during the time that a reduced speed limit is to be in effect and to relieve the motoring public from a 24 hour a day, seven days a week speed limit when it is only intended for certain period of the day, certain days of the week, and certain weeks of the year.”
He suggested if council wants to draw attention to temporarily reduced speed limits a phased in approach might be best.
He said that initially, a school zone with a reduced speed at certain times could convert the signs with flashing lights, but installing those types of signs where there is no speed limit reduction would not be appropriate.
He noted that only Ponsonby school has a special speed reduction.
And, Ough added, “Having the speed limit reduced only during school times would not address the situation at Ponsonby, which gave rise to the speed reduction on County Road 7 in the first place.
He said detailed wiring and costs and liabilities would have to be explored thoroughly before considering such a move “if someone at the school were to be given authority [or] responsibility to activate and deactivate the lights manually.”
Council agreed, and accepted the committee’s recommendation to accept the report on signs for information, and to take no further action.
