Traffic calming policy approved for Spaniard’s Bay

By Craig Westcott

Spaniard’s Bay council has adopted a traffic calming policy and approved the first major piece of equipment to help implement it.
The equipment purchase was made first during council’s February meeting with the policy itself adopted later in the session.
“Council has been talking the last number of months about adopting a traffic calming policy,” noted Town Manager Tony Ryan. “And as part of that policy we’ve indicated there’s areas of town where we want to do traffic monitoring. I reached out to Construction Signs Limited, and they provided me with a few quotes, one of which, for a monthly rate of $750 plus HST, we could rent a used piece of equipment to do that. I’ve been told that piece of equipment was a trade show model. The second two quotes they provided were for two new units at $4,200 and $4,600 respectively. HST is extra. I need a motion to proceed if such is the will of council.”
Ryan advised if staff are going to be conducting traffic studies at various intersections, council might be better off buying the equipment, given how many months it will be deployed.
“I’m in total agreement with that,” said councillor Darren Smith.
“I agree,” said councillor Terry Sheppard. “We’ve got issues throughout our town. There are 20 to 30 roads for sure that we’ve got to look at. So, my opinion is to purchase it.”
Deputy Mayor Gerald Sheppard concurred, adding the Town would do better to buy the more expensive model because it has a display area to message motorists as they approach it, whereas the slightly cheaper model doesn’t have that feature.
Councillor Ann Marie Singleton moved that council buy the $4,600 model. It was seconded by Deputy Mayor Sheppard and passed unanimously.
“This will coincide with our traffic calming policy,” said Mayor Tammy Oliver. “So, we can monitor these streets and see where exactly our numbers are. And this unit is movable so it can go all around town.”
Nearly an hour later into the meeting, council debated the traffic calming policy itself.
“This is something that council has discussed at length, about how we deal with traffic issues,” said Mayor Oliver. “It’s been forever ongoing. I attended many consultations with the RCMP, we’ve had them visit, we’ve had community gatherings, there have been discussions at the Joint Council, so moving forward this council has decided to put a policy in place to let us know what roads are having what issues and the amount of issues per road, whether it be speeding, or ATV use or whatever.”
Oliver said the guidelines are quite extensive and were professionally done. Some may be in excess of what the Town needs, she allowed, but they offer a full range of measures that council can adopt.
“Speeding is a huge problem in our town,” said councillor Terry Sheppard. “As a council, we’ve all worked together and I think this is a huge step to mitigate that problem. It’s not going to happen overnight, but it’s a start, and it’s a big start.”
Oliver said the policy will be posted to the Town’s website. Some measures, such as speed tables, will have to await implementation until the snow has melted for the season, she cautioned.
“If residents think that your road needs to be looked at, just contact the office and start the process,” Oliver said.
Put to a vote, the policy passed unanimously.