Automated speed enforcement pilot project coming to Norfolk

Norfolk County councilors on Tuesday took two steps towards improving community safety by getting motorists to slow down.

Councilors, at a council-in committee meeting Tuesday, endorsed an automated speed enforcement pilot project and a new traffic calming policy.

“We all recognize the importance of vehicle, pedestrian and bike safety and we design our roads and networks to protect our residents,” Andrew Grice, the county’s general manager environmental and infrastructure services, said. “What we’re talking about today (automated speed enforcement) is a program that actually penalizes individuals for not obeying the rules.”

Automated speed enforcement or ASE is a technology that records the speed of vehicles. Tickets are then mailed to the owner of the vehicle for payment of fines but no demerit points are issued.

“It is a proven technology to reduce speeds however, it is not a lucrative as people are often led to believe,” Grice, the county’s… “By the time you pay for the infrastructure, the processing, signage, vandalism and other miscellaneous elements , they are often cost neutral or result in a small cost to the municipality.

“But there is no doubt that they work.”

Under the pilot program, a trailer would be parked for up to a week at a location and infractions would be captured 24 hours a day. The information would then help the county determine the merits of a full-scale automated speed enforcement program.

No tickets would be issued during the summer time pilot program expected to cost up to $10,000.

County staff recommended four locations for the pilot project: Norfolk Street North between Davis Street and 13th Street West in Simcoe; Main Street between Blueline Road and Thompson Drive in Port Dover; James Street between Dalton Road and Brock Avenue in Delhi and Cockshutt Road between Inglewood Drive and St. John’s Road in Port Dover.

count. Tom Masschaele asked county staff to consider Port Rowan as a location for pilot project.

“I think all council would agree that speeding is a concern everywhere in Norfolk County,” Masschaele said. “It might be interesting to get some data to compare where it actually is the worst or where an area needs further study.”

Grice said he had anticipated some discussion and debate about the chosen locations. He said staff would be happy to work with council to identify locations.

count. Kim Huffman cited Main Street in Waterford as an example of speeding in areas that are growing in population.

“Even though there are speed limits posted, a school zone there and quite a bit of traffic with the Tim Hortons, the fire station up there, the rate of speed people travel is unbelievable,” Huffman said.

Ontario authorized the use of automated speed enforcement in municipalities in 2017 to address speeding in school and community safety zones.

Meanwhile, the county’s traffic calming policy outlines the process which could see the addition of speed bumps, rumble strips, raised crosswalks and intersections.

Residents, under the policy, will be able to submit an application requesting traffic calming measures on a street by way of a neighborhood petition. To be considered, the petition must have signatures from 75 per cent of the residents on the street with a limit of one signature per household.

Requests would be evaluated by staff and brought to councilors for approval during the capital budget process.

“I can say as the council for Ward 7 in the previous term and the the current term, the calls that I get regarding road safety and speeding and people begging for traffic calming measures are through the roof and they are constant,” Huffman said.

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