LANCASTER – A couple of South Glengarry council members say the bar is too high on a policy to slow down traffic in South Glengarry.
The so-called “traffic calming” policy would review requests from residents based on a points system on whether to add features like speed bumps, bollards, radar signs or perform lane narrowing to put the brakes on lead-foot drivers.
Coun. Stephanie Jaworski raised concerns during Friday’s council meeting that a provision for an open house was removed from the policy and “how high the bar was” to bring the policy into effect.
For example, based on speed alone, a traffic survey would have to show 85 per cent of cars and trucks on a road with a 50 kilometer an hour speed limit were going 75 or more to trigger a review.
As it stands now, Jaworski doubted areas where there are speeding problems, like Green Valley, would even qualify.
Acting Roads Director Chris LeBlanc noted that it wasn’t the only tool to qualify a road for traffic calming measures.
For residents making a request, they need 60 per cent of people living on their street or road to sign the petition for traffic calming.
Deputy Mayor Lyle Warden agreed the threshold was too high and asked for a delay to make sure the municipality gets it right the first time.
The policy will come back to another council meeting once it’s reviewed by LeBlanc and the township’s roads committee.
The policy does not apply to SD&G county roads and provincial highways.