The new yellow-and-black traffic posts popping up around Bradford West Gwillimbury are an official town effort to curb “excessive speed” by at least five kilometres an hour, said the town’s CAO Geoff McKnight.
“The (town’s traffic) committee has received numerous complaints regarding excessive speed and, as a result, asked staff to report back with information regarding traffic calming,” he said. “The in-street traffic bollards were seen as a positive measure for speed reduction. They are also cost-effective, which allows for more roadways to be reviewed and studied.”
The $4,000 project began with installation of the bollards last week on Line 7 at the western edge of Bond Head; Northgate Drive between Longview Drive and Fox Run Lane; and West Park Avenue between Holland Street West and Huron Lane.
“We are hoping for at least a five km/h reduction in speed for 85 per cent of the vehicles travelling through the pilot areas,” McKnight said.
Traffic bollards are flexible posts installed along roadways to create a visual — and slight physical — narrowing of the road, encouraging drivers to slow down.
The town has previously done traffic studies to establish a baseline of speed and volume, and it will do comparative studies starting in September when typical traffic resumes after the summer, he said.
The bollards, which include a speed limit sign, will stay in place until November, removed for the winter, and then put back in place so town staff can continue studying their effectiveness.
“The public’s reception to this traffic calming effort has been largely positive,” but some people are parking next to the bollards on Northgate and West Park, making it difficult for people to drive past, McKnight said.
“We are going to erect No Parking signage near the bollards to remove this problem. It will only affect a few on-street parking spots,” he said.
Lynda Usher, who lives on Line 7 in Bond Head, said she is delighted with the bollards.
She said she has often complained of speeders heading through Bond Head much faster than the posted 50 km/h.
She has watched vehicles slow down to navigate the two sets of bollards installed at the west end of Bond Head.
“They’ve slowed the vehicles down,” she said. “It’s great.”
BWG Mayor Rob Keffer called the bollards a “promising method of reducing speed.”
“Town Council and staff have worked to find a solution to speeding issues, particularly in areas where the amount of traffic is not enough to warrant other options like stop signs,” read his statement in a town press release.
Not all streets will be eligible to get bollards, said BWG Coun. Gary Lamb, chair of the town’s traffic committee.
Northgate, for example, is a good fit because it serves more than 700 homes and sees more than 4,000 vehicles every day, he said.
Before installing bollards, Lamb said town staff researched their use in other communities, including Newmarket, which saw a five km/h drop in speeds where they were installed.
“We have had to be educated,” he said, noting the committee heard from more than six safety companies with options.
Speed bumps were ruled out to avoid damaging snow plows and cars, he added.
“Speed bumps are a hazard.”
— With files from Miriam King
