Tecumseh council has a better idea about speed patterns in the town and some of the trouble spots that need to be addressed following a year long study
Tecumseh council has a better idea about speed patterns and some of the trouble spots that need to be addressed following a study of speed issues in the town.
Throughout 2023, public works and engineering staff had speed radar devices, including digital speed display boards, strategically placed at a total of twenty-four locations spanning nineteen different streets in the town.
Tecumseh Mayor Gary McNamara says the results of this study will be a good resource for council to use when residents call with complaints.
"They give you the outliers where the average speed over that area and then what the medium is. Out of the sites, there are probably six of them that need to be monitored more closely with enforcement," he says.
A report presented at Tuesday's council meeting showed a review of the 85th percentile speeds collected and it showed motorists were found to be traveling at speeds in excess of 10km/h above the posted speed limit at the following locations:
- Baseline Road- Holden Road- St. Thomas Street- Shawnee Road- Lacasse Boulevard- Manning Road
The 85th percentile speed is the speed at or below which 85 per cent of the drivers travel on a road segment. Motorists traveling above the 85th percentile speed are considered to be exceeding the safe and reasonable speed for road and traffic conditions.
The study found that Baseline Road, which has a posted speed limit of 60km/h, had an average speed of 77 km/h with an 85th percentile speed of 67 km/h.
McNamara says that means many vehicles are going 80 plus, 90 plus, in that corridor.
"There's an area, I'll put out a warning to the folks of Essex County and the city, if you're using Baseline Road be aware, there might be a black-and-white sitting there," he says.
McNamara says they are beginning to explore speed monitoring and photo radar opportunities in community safe zones.
"We're looking forward to start looking at opportunities in those areas of real concern for folks, which is our community safety zones. To have cameras in place and to help police as well, to monitor those critical areas," he adds.
When excessive speeding is observed, pertinent location details and collected data are promptly forwarded to the OPP so it can be used to identify the days and times of the week when enforcement of speeding may be most effective.
Speeding is enforced by the OPP under the Ontario Highway Traffic Act. The town says OPP were notified of the noted areas for potential enforcement and follow-up.
With files from Rob Hindi