Archive

No speeding problems on Elizabeth, Zina streets

October 24, 2024   ·   0 Comments

By JAMES MATTHEWS

Orangeville has no speeding issues on Elizabeth Street and Zina Street.

That’s the conclusion in a report to town council, tabled at its Oct. 21 meeting.

“To say I was flabbergasted when I saw this report is an understatement,” Deputy Mayor Todd Taylor said. “It’s unbelievable that no one is speeding in that area. I’ve got a ton of complaints.”

Staff prepared an update to council earlier this year about vehicle volumes and speeds at the westerly limits on both Elizabeth Street and Zina Street.

Vehicle speeds and volumes revealed that at the time the data was collected, there were no significant speeding issues in the area.

Staff collected speed data in July and August on Elizabeth Street and Zina Street using message feedback/speed signs that use radar technology.

Based on the data collected by message feedback signs, the trend continues to indicate that there does not appear to be a speeding problem on both Elizabeth Street and Zina Street.

The average recorded speed for vehicles using Elizabeth Street is 36km/hr while the highest recorded speed was 47km/hr between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m.

The average recorded speed for vehicles using Zina Street is 37km/hr while the highest recorded speed was 56km/hr between those same hours.

The information and data collected reveal that there continue to be no speeding issues on both Elizabeth Street and Zina Street.

That speed review report was presented to council in February. It identified that about 98 per cent of traffic on Elizabeth Street and 91 per cent of traffic on Zina Street travel at less than 50kms/hr, which is within the speed and instrument collection tolerances.

According to a report tabled at council’s Oct. 21 meeting, staff continues to monitor traffic and speed volumes in many sensitive areas throughout the municipality. That monitoring is typically done through message feedback/speed signs and other methods such as the use of Black Cat Radar Recorders, tube counters, and speed radar trailers.

The data collected for the latest report was compiled using the message feedback/speed signs whereas the previous reports used pneumatic tube counters. Each method has different capabilities but is relatively similar and accurate in accumulating data.

Taylor said he’s frustrated that Orangeville doesn’t have some of the traffic calming measures found in some other towns. Specifically, he lamented the absence of signs that can be hit by a car to slow it down.

“And they (signs) can fall down,” he said. “They might do minimal damage to your car but, on balance, they bounce back up. And they make the street narrow.

“I would love to see that in certain areas.”

Mayor Lisa Post said that was one of the methods mentioned in a municipal traffic calming policy adopted by the previous town council.

“This is the second time the data has come back saying there is not a speeding problem,” she said. “So at this point it’s not recommended by staff because there’s no problem.”

“That’s not how I thought this was going to go,” Taylor said.

“Those of us on council, we make our decisions based on data,” Councillor Joe Andrews said. “I think what we may be looking at is congestion at specific times versus speed.”


Readers Comments (0)





Please note: Comment moderation is enabled and may delay your comment. There is no need to resubmit your comment.