City staff have identified a number of neighbourhoods where they believe traffic calming measures such as speed bumps or traffic circles should be implemented.
Staff were directed to rank the roadways in all 12 wards for traffic calming measures. They will present their report Aug. 23 at the traffic committee meeting at Tom Davies Square.
Reducing speeding drivers in residential neighbourhoods has been a priority for city councillors and city staff since city council adopted a traffic calming policy May 12.
“The policy has been driven by requests from residents for traffic calming even before we were developing a policy,” Ward 1 Coun. Joe Cimino, chair of the city's traffic committee, said. “Staff have been inundated with requests.”
About 30 percent of 138 road segments surveyed qualified for traffic calming based on the criteria such as collision history, volume of traffic and whether traffic is predominantly non-local in nature.
Based on an annual budget of $150,000, one road segment should be able to have traffic calming measures implemented each year, staff reported.
But Cimino said even more neighbourhoods may qualify for traffic calming.
“In some neighbourhoods, traffic calming can cost as little as $10,000 if it is just a matter of pulling out a few curbs,” he said. “When there is new construction, and traffic calming measures are included in the cost of the road work, then it can come out of another city budget.”
In the South End, Southview Drive had several traffic calming measures put in place.
“Traffic speeds there have been reduced,” he said. He mentioned the digital signs erected that clock a driver's speed as educating drivers as to how fast they are going as a good way of slowing traffic in residential neighbourhoods.
Scoring highest by city staff for traffic calming measures were:
- Attlee Avenue (Lasalle Boulevard to Westmount Avenue)
- Auger Avenue (Lasalle Boulevard to Gemmell Street)
- Riverside Drive (Regent Street to Broadway Street)
- Michelle Drive (MR 80 to Ivan Street)
- Brenda Drive (Moonrock Avenue to St. Charles Lake Road)
- Lansing Avenue (Lasalle Boulevard to Maley Drive)
- Grandview Boulevard (Montrose Avenueto Wedgewood Drive)
- Hillcrest Drive (Brian Street to Mikkola Road)
- Loach's Road (Regent Street to Lo-Ellen Park School)
- Kelly Lake Road (Southview Drive to Copper Street)
