Spaniard’s Bay council advises residents to call RCMP on speeders

By Mark Squibb | May 6, 2021

If you see someone speeding on your street, call the police.

That’s the message from Spaniard’s Bay council in response to a letter from a resident of Mint Cove Pond Road requesting two speed bumps on the street.

“It’s not the first time we’ve had requests for speed bumps in this area, but I think it’s the first time from this particular resident, but it goes back to the same old issue,” said Mayor Paul Brazil. “When the road was not resurfaced and it was full of potholes, there was still people going down there faster then they should be. The potholes didn’t deter them.”

Councilor Tracy Smith asked if council had gone back to residents to ask for other suggestions. Mayor Brazil said he thought there was a committee being put into place.

Smith recommended informing the individual there is talk of a committee being formed.

Councilor Paul Ryan, meanwhile, suggested that speed bumps might damage freshly laid asphalt.

“It’s new pavement, and there’s a lot of money gone into it,” said Ryan. “The only way to deter speeding is to keep calling the RCMP, that’s one thing, or shut the road down to the general public.”

Mayor Brazil noted the RCMP presented their call log during the last Conception Bay North Joint Council meeting and that police take calls about traffic concerns seriously.

“They log, and report to us, all the calls they take about ATV traffic and speeding,” said Brazil. “And they take it seriously. And they focus their efforts in the areas from which they receive calls. So, if they’re not receiving calls, they’ll assume your area is mostly trouble-free. So, call the RCMP if you’re witnessing any of this kind of stuff. They’re the people who have jurisdiction over this kind of stuff.”

As for speedbumps, Deputy Mayor Darlene Stamp pointed out council had already taken a position on them.

“This council has taken on the position that we don’t put down speed bumps,” said Stamp. “We’ve gone out to the community, we’ve advised the community of the procedures.”

Mayor Brazil admitted speed bumps are not an ideal solution to the speeding problem.

“This is a small street, and the request in this particular letter is for two speedbumps,” said Brazil. “We have over 50 kilometers of road that we’re responsible for in town. If we were to put speed bumps down, to that degree, all over town, we would be into tens of thousands of dollars, maybe into hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of speedbumps, and once the town is riddled with speed bumps, all the people who drive would be totally annoyed by all the delays, and it will not do very much to curb the behavior of those who drive around recklessly and speed and do all kinds of crazy things.”

Stamp added the RCMP has had concerns about drivers by-passing speedbumps.

“In this letter, they’re talking about child safety,” said Stamp. “To put a speed in I think would be even more dangerous, because people will go around that speedbump,” she said.

Councilor Paul Ryan agreed with that assessment.

Councilor Sherry Lundrigan said that besides speedbumps, the resident requested signage to caution drivers to slow down, and recommended council provide the notices as requested.

Her colleagues were on board with that idea and voted to put up the signs.

Mayor Brazil, who observed this letter was at least the third piece of correspondence regarding speeding on Minto Cove Road during his two terms on council, encouraged residents to call the RCMP as necessary, and said council will continue to welcome suggestions from residents.

He agreed with Stamp that speedbumps may not be the answer, as they come with their own unique set of problems.

“People avoid them,” said Brazil. “They cut to the right, they cut to the left, they drive over people’s lawns.”