Wellington North council has directed staff to assess traffic in all school zones across the township after staff recommended not taking action at one rural intersection.
Council had asked staff to evaluate the implications of installing a four-way stop at the intersection of Concession 4N and Sideroad 3 and reducing the speed limit near the Mennonite school on Sideroad 3.
Both streets currently have a speed limit of 80km/h.
In his report, interim public works director Derek McCaughan recommended that the township not install a four-way stop and that staff monitor speeds on Sideroad 3 for the next five years.
He explained the OPP placed a speed recording device on Concession 4N near Sideroad 3 for 72 hours.
It was not set on Sideroad 3 as “speeds would be positively influenced (slowed) by the existing stop control” on Concession 4N.
The study showed the 60 vehicles observed had an average speed of 64km/h.
“These observations indicate vehicles are generally operated well within the current speed limit on (Concession 4N) and suggest there is no current motorist behaviour that needs to be addressed,” stated the report.
McCaughan’s report also noted there has been just one collision at the intersection in the last five years, which was attributed to poor weather conditions.
McCaughan stated the ideal solution would be a time-of-day speed limit, with the speed limit lowered during school hours. However, those signs could cost more than $10,000 each.
The report also stated four-way stops are used on roadways with balanced volumes and where sight lines are compromised. That is not the case at this intersection.
In his report, McCaughan suggested an all-way stop would create a washboard effect on the road, which would be an ongoing maintenance issue for the township.
Councillor Sherry Burke, who raised the original motion seeking the information, said she was disappointed with the recommendation.
“We had a number of conversations in regard to that area out there, and I think for a matter of some maintenance and some noise, that in my opinion and several of the folks out there, that we’re compromising safety,” Burke said.
Councillor Steve McCabe took the opposite view.
“I think there’s already two stop signs out there, two school safety zones already out there on Sideroad 3,” said McCabe.
“I think it could almost be a little bit detrimental, the road way, there would be a lot more maintenance that way for washboard effect, and then the noise would be there with stopping and starting.”
Councillor Lisa Hern, who was acting mayor in the absence of Mayor Andy Lennox, asked if staff would be looking at all school locations across the township.
“I’m thinking this is a larger problem,” she said.
McCaughan suggested council direct staff to assess the traffic near all schools.
“There is very little information (on) which to evaluate what is happening; it was one of the reasons why the recommendations for this report came up the way it did,” he said.
“You can see that the information in a very small sample indicated there’s not much of a problem with the existing speed limit. I’m not in a position to say whether or not that’s typical of (Concession 4N) traffic.”
McCaughan added, “If we were to look at all of the township’s schools and see how they are situated on the roadways … we may find that we’re not doing enough or we may find that we are okay, but that only comes through a formal assessment of the circumstances that we find.”
McCabe said it was a good idea to look at a broader picture.
“You can’t just piecemeal it all together … it’s got to be uniform across the township, and maybe that’s something that we should look at,” he said.
The original motion to “not take action” was defeated in a tie vote – with Hern and McCabe in favour and Burke and councillor Dan Yake opposed.
Council then directed staff to assess relative traffic safety in all school zones in Wellington North.
