A resident of King Street North in New Tecumseth is trying to raise awareness of speeders along that stretch of road heading into town.
The location is posted as a 50 km/h zone, however the resident, who asked not to be named, lives in a group of nine houses along the road that eventually arrives at CFB Borden and claims he routinely sees drivers going in excess of 100 km/h.
With no sidewalks and children playing in the area, he's concerned that a serious collision will take place due to high speed along that straight section of roadway.
He would like to see some new enforcement including a large sign indicating the change in speed. The road is an 80 km/h road on County Road 15 before entering the area getting closer to town.
The resident contacted the town with his concerns and was referred to Nottawasaga OPP.
“It happens all day and weekends are even worse,” the resident said. “I was put in touch with the town engineer and was told they don't look after that road because it's the county's road. You've got to deal with the County of Simcoe. I had to cut down a tree in front of my house so I wouldn't get killed when trying to pull out of my driveway.”
The resident was told there are plans to put up an electronic radar sign indicating driver's speeds on that stretch of road. He would like to see a huge 50 km/h speed limit side placed on the roadside both for drivers both heading out of town and the opposite way.
“It's like a free-for-all up there. I see people walking on the side of the road, guys riding their bikes, and people jogging. There's no sidewalks. It's very dangerous.”
The resident said he spoke to an officer at Nottawasaga OPP about the problem, and recognizes they have limited resources and can't patrol the area all day long.
However, he says the OPP did issue 177 speeding tickets on that stretch of road last year and have already issued 44 tickets so far this year, so the police are obviously aware that the road does attract its share of speeders and have been diligent in keeping it under control.
The resident said he was informed by the county that a flashing radar sign would be installed by the end of this past week.
Brian Lockhart, Local Journalism Initiative, New Tecumseth Times. The LJI is a federally funded program.
