Lead foots beware.
Speeders may soon find themselves on the wrong end of the law after town councillors instructed administration staff to investigate ways to slow drivers down as they are heading out of town on 53 Avenue.
Until a more permanent solution is found, Barrhead’s peace officer will add the area to his regular patrol route and issue speeding tickets.
Coun. Ryan Warehime initiated the discussion during council’s regular meeting on Tuesday, May 10, stating he has received many complaints from area residents.
“One suggestion I thought that might be a good way to slow people down is by putting in a stop sign and one place that has been suggested to me is the corner of 53 Avenue and 46 Street making a four-way stop,” he said, adding the other roads leading out of town are highways so the town doesn’t have any jurisdiction. “This is our road and I believe we can all agree it is a legitimate concern.”
Warehime then asked administration what the proper procedure is for installing a stop sign.
Martin Taylor, chief administrative officer for Barrhead, suggested another way to tackle the issue is through traffic enforcement, adding the town could instruct the peace officer to patrol the area.
“We have asked him to patrol the school zone, in the mornings and afternoons when children are on the road and we have found it has helped keep the speed down,” he said, adding a stop sign is possible, but the town would have to start a public education campaign as well. “If people don’t know it’s there, it could cause a lot of accidents.”
Taylor added before a stop sign is installed the town would also have to check with Alberta Transportation to see if there are any issues because the road becomes a secondary highway just outside the town limit. The speed limit is 50 kilometres per hour.
Coun. Ty Assaf, who lives in the area, agreed with Warehime.
“Speeding is a definite issue. Once they go through the lights and pass that first set of business buildings into the residential section, it’s full bore,” he said. “You can actually hear them peeling down the road. We have to find a solution.”
Coun. Leslie Penny suggested photo radar might be a solution.
“We are always talking about our need for money and they say the speed cameras are not only a way to slow drivers down, but raise money,” she said. “In Hinton speeding tickets go into a fund that helps community groups can access to help them with their organizations.”
From 2007 to 2013, it is estimated the Town of Hinton program has generated a net revenue of $3.48 million from photo-radar tickets.
In Whitecourt, funds received from their photo radar program go into a safe community initiative’s fund which helps pay for programs that enhance community safety.
Mayor Gerry St. Pierre said it is his understanding before any community can apply for a photo-radar program it must meet a number of criteria, one of them being size.
“I don’t think we have the population for it, but I am not sure about that,” he said.
Administration will investigate the issue and bring options to a future council meeting.
