Tiny enforcement wants the public to know: They are listening to residents, and watching for speeders.
In an effort to bring a large number of speed limit bylaws under one umbrella for the ease of traffic enforcement, Tiny Township staff brought a report to the recent committee of the whole meeting addressing a consolidated bylaw and changes to speed limits across the municipality.
“(When) we started looking at our speed limits,” explained public works director Tim Leitch, “we noticed that there were 38 – that we knew of – bylaws in existence that have been generated over the various years; some of them are for one street, some are for multiple streets.”
Some past difficulties involved road name changes over the decades, and repeated appearances of the same stretch of road in old bylaws. Leitch said that design and application consistency with the transportation masterplan was a concern, and a big exercise that paid off.
“What we eventually wanted to develop was one single bylaw to capture all of our speed limit changes for what they’re currently posted at. For speed limits to be enforceable, they need to be passed by bylaw; otherwise they're not enforceable.”
Leitch added that a consolidated bylaw would allow the municipality to simply update schedules when modifying speed limits rather than undergoing the lengthier procedure to issue new bylaws, saving staff time and money for residents. Additionally, required signage modifications would be covered under the roads department standard operating budget as well as the capital budget, and work would be performed this summer.
Within the report, it was recommended that several areas receive lower speed limits including: Tiny Beaches Rd. N from Balm Beach Rd. to Parkside, from an unsigned 50 kph (kilometres per hour) to 30 kph due to parking and pedestrian density; and a blanket reduction of Tiny Beaches Rd. from the townline to Conc. 19 W at a default 40 kph where no signs are present.
Mayor Dave Evans was in support of the staff recommendations as he referred to other municipalities, such as Mississauga, which have enacted similar changes.
“This will go a long way,” said Evans. “It really works, because you can really punch a couple of different popular points that everybody goes through, and once you see that 40 you just know.”
Coun. Kelly Helowka shared resident concerns regarding Baseline Rd. as an unofficial express shortcut to Midland and Penetanguishene, providing an observation that over the course of nearly an hour of watching vehicles, “in my opinion not one car was doing less than 120.”
Leitch replied that a section of the report dealt specifically with those areas of Baseline Rd. and Marshall Rd., with both being recommended to stay at 80 kph (with the exception of Marshall Rd. between Downer’s and Gardiners Corner Rd. at 70 kph due to a bridge).
“Speed limits are not an effective method for speed calming; people have a tendency to drive at the speed they feel comfortable with,” explained Leitch. “There are other techniques, but unfortunately lowering speed limits on that road would probably make people more frustrated than it would be an effective tool for reducing speeds. We’re aware of that, and that’s why Baseline had a lot of comments, and why we specifically called out that area in this report.”
Solar speed calming signs such as the ones in Wyevale were a reminder to some motorists to slow down, Leitch added, and while not stopping the dangerous speeders, it did have the effect of reducing the speed of average drivers who were unaware they were in excess.
A suggestion offered by Deputy Mayor Sean Miskimins was to deploy the township’s purchased mobile radar trailer which would record data to be sent to the OPP for processing and further enforcement. Chief municipal law enforcement officer Steve Harvey assured the committee that the trailer would be put to use in the township shortly.
Leitch added that a speed policy flow chart had been developed with Harvey years ago for residents who wished to participate in speed monitoring, enforcement, and speed notifications. The chart, available on the Tiny website, contained contact numbers and the process for residents to follow without having to contact the township directly.
Of the listed streets in the report schedule, one instance on Conc. 2 W caught the amused eye of several committee members – a twisting narrow bridge 500 metres west of CR-6 posted at just 10 kph.
“Is that so people don’t run into the bridge?” asked Evans with a laugh. “That’s usually for horses and stuff.”
Replied Leitch: “I knew that would grab some attention, and it is not a typo. This is a bridge… that’s extremely narrow and it’s windy. We wanted to put that down for that (reason); it is a safety issue on that particular bridge.
“Good eyes,” Leitch added in amusement. “It caught mine when I looked at that and said ‘10? Oh, that’s why’.”
The consolidated speed limit bylaw and speed limit changes report, including a full list of affected streets and proposed limits, can be found in the agenda page located on the Tiny Township website.
Archives of council meetings are available to view on Tiny Township’s YouTube channel.
