Community

‘Slow it down!’: Harbour Main resident takes her case to council

By Chris Lewis   |   Vol. 32 No. 2 (March 27 2019)

Her road may be tucked off the beaten path, but Point Road, Harbour Main resident Jennifer Corbett is still flabbergasted by the speed of some of the drivers who fly by her home.


Corbett is so concerned about it, she not only wrote the town council looking for help, but also appeared before the chamber earlier this month to plead her case.


In her letter, Corbett said the excessive speeds she sees people travelling down the 40 kph road is “frightening at times.”


“There are several young and old people who drive well over the speed limit,” she said, noting that she is a mother of two young boys who live on the road with her. “I contacted the RCMP back in the fall, and I was told they would increase their patrols in the area, but it has not deterred the speeders. The warm weather will soon be approaching and I would like to see something done if at all possible to reduce the speed on this road.”


Mayor Mike Doyle said council has been aware for some time that there are speeding concerns not only on Point Road, but other roads too, such as Harbour Drive.


Doyle also outlined a number of other issues that Point Road is facing, including guard rails and poor road conditions.


However, the road is not the town’s responsibility, and is in fact owned and maintained by the Department of Transportation and Works. Council has asked the department in the past to place traffic control devices along the road, such as speed bumps. Doyle said he never did get a response.


“Let’s get a superintendent to attend our committee as a whole (meeting), and we can have a discussion about whether they have their work plan for 2019 ready,” suggested the mayor. “Let’s see what they have in store for Harbour Main. We’ll have a conversation with them. What can they do for traffic calming devices on their roads? Once again, this is their road. We can’t do anything with it, so let’s just see what they can or can’t do for these speeding concerns.”


The matter led Doyle to raise the issue of what the Town should be doing about the roads it controls. He pointed to measures some other communities in the region, such as Holyrood, have implemented.


“Something else we should think about as we move forward is the work we’re doing near the Chapel’s Cove playground area,” the mayor added. “We’re starting to see increased activity up there, and I’m sure that would qualify for some traffic calming devices up there as well.”


Near the end of the meeting, Corbett got her chance to revisit the topic of Point Road. “We can see every vehicle that goes down the road from our house, and over the last couple years, the speeds that people are going by is a lot more than just 40,” she said.

“They’re going 60, 70, 80 kilometres an hour and it’s way too fast.”


Corbett is worried about the safety of her children on the street, including her son who sometimes rides a bike along it. “I shouldn’t have to be hauling him off the road,” she said. “It should be safe for me to take my son out for a walk at 3:00 in the afternoon, but it’s not.”


Ultimately, a resolution was carried unanimously to invite a representative from the Department of Transportation to attend a private meeting with council.

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