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County considers roundabouts to improve road safety

November 3, 2025   ·   2 Comments

By JAMES MATTHEWS, LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER

Dufferin County thoroughfares may benefit from roundabouts at certain intersections and stretches of road.

A September Road Safety Audit identified sightlines at the intersection of Dufferin Road 17 and Dufferin Road 19 as being below the Transportation Association of Canada (TAC) minimum standards.

According to a report of the audit, available sight distances were measured at 165 metres west and 200 metres east, compared to the TAC minimum of 210 metres.

Dufferin County staff recommend reducing the posted speed limit from 80km/h to 50km/h along the east-west approaches to the intersection to improve intersection safety.

“Lowering the speed limit to 50km/h provides motorists with increased reaction time, shorter stopping distances, and a more forgiving environment in the event of driver error, all of which directly mitigate the identified risks,” according to the staff report.

Councillor Philip Rentsch, the deputy mayor of Grand Valley, wondered whether lowering the speed limit would be effective.

“I get that because we did a Road Safety Audit and we said there’s a problem we have to do something about it,” he said. “I’m curious as to why this and not something else?

“Do we actually think that it’s going to have an impact on the ground unless the Township of Mulmur puts a dedicated OPP officer there on occasion to actually enforce the speed limit?”

To ensure consistency and effectiveness of the reduced speed zone, county and municipal staff will work together to update the posted limit along 10 Sideroad as well.

Coordinated implementation will help prevent abrupt speed transitions through the intersection area and provide a clear, predictable environment for drivers approaching from all directions.

Scott Burns, the county’s public works director, said the issue with that stretch of road is a little bit unusual.

“Typically when we look at a road we look at its full length and there could be anomalies in that road that don’t comply with the strict standards, but you still would maintain an overarching speed limit,” he said.

An audit looks at a specific place in which potential hazards are highlighted, he said. Then those hazards have to be addressed.

“That’s kind of the unique feature of the road safety audit process is that it doesn’t just consider that typical norm,” he said. “It looks at every single hazard that potentially is in place.”

Burns said the stop signs at that intersection have been enlarged to improve visibility. Sightlines are being improved along the roadside. The speed limit considers “the actual geometry of the road and what sightlines are available,” he said.

So there could be a situation in which a portion of the road is reconstructed with sightlines to accommodate an 80km/h speed limit, he said.

“When we look at these things, we also have to think about the costs associated with them,” Burns said. “At this point in time the recommendation we would make would be to reduce the speed so the sightline complies.”

Coun. James McLean, Melancthon’s deputy mayor, suggested that constructing a roundabout at that intersection would effectively cause speeds to be reduced without the need for a dedicated police officer at the site to ensure motorist compliance.

“I think this would be a perfect opportunity to test the province’s promise of funding roundabouts in response to their cancellation of speed cameras,” said Coun. John Creelman, who is the mayor of Mono. “I realize it is not a community safety zone and there was no speed camera there, but the province says they will fund roundabouts. This would be a good opportunity to hold them to their word.”

Coun. Todd Taylor, Orangeville’s deputy mayor, agrees there is much room for roundabouts in the Dufferin community.

Coun. Gail Little, Amaranth’s deputy mayor, said there is danger in having motorists drive at 80km/h and then slow for a 60km/h stretch of road before traipsing to 50km/h and back up to 80km/h when there’s no enforcement.

A roundabout there would remedy that.

“I would not like us to miss out on this potential funding opportunity,” she said.

A commuter’s mindset is centred on the daily schedule and getting to where they need to be quickly.

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