A new speed limit on County Road 7 at Ponsonby Public School is designed for safety, but a council councillor here sees it as something else.
Retired police officer Walter Trachsel told county council on Oct. 30 that the warning signs in the change of speed limit from 80km/hour down to 60 leave little time for motorists to slow down.
“If we’re into a new speed limit, why not put up New signs?” Trachsel asked, noting that many motorists are getting hit with tickets.
He said it is the duty to educate motorists as well as enforce compliance, but he saw two different standards when he considered the signs on provincial Highway 6 and County Road 7. He said he checked, and the warnings of a reduced speed limit on the County Road are half the distance of the warnings on Highway 6.
He said the county signs force motorists to “slam on the brakes.”
He urged the county to erect signs that warn that a new speed limit is now in force. He also asked that the warning signs of a speed limit change should also be farther away from the start of the new speed zone. Trachsel had no disagreement with the lower speed limit near the school, but, “I just want to be fair,” he said.
The road committee report also noted that councillor Joanne Ross-Zuj had brought concerns about the same section of road.
Residents had complained to her that at night, the new signs are difficult to read.
The county placed the lower speed limit on the road for safety reasons. First, there are no streetlights on the road, and Ponsonby school has a small parking lot.
That means that for school events, particularly in winter, people have to park on the road and walk in the dark to the school. Last year, a woman was killed on the road after being struck. She had been attending a school event.
