Pelham drivers will soon be forced to drive slower in some areas, as Councillors voted last week to reduce the maximum speed limit to 40 km/h on several urban and rural roads, following a staff report that made such recommendations.
The speed limit changes include urban areas and villages of Fonthill, Fenwick, Ridgeville and North Pelham, as well as the section of Memorial Drive from Cream Street to Canboro Road.
Importantly, the new speed limit will not apply to the section of Canboro Road between the Fenwick and Ridgeville Boundaries, as an amendment was made for agricultural vehicle reasons.
The new speed limit change is in alignment with the Pelham Active Transportation Committee’s recommendations and offers consistent speed limits with Community Safety Zones, School Zones, and “Flashing 40 km/h” road sections.
New “Maximum 40 Area Begins” and “Maximum 40 Area Ends” signs will be installed near defined Urban Area and Rural Settlement boundaries and near all intersections within urban areas that intersect with roads under the jurisdiction of the Region of Niagara.
It is expected that the implementation of the new speed limits will require a budget of $42,000, which was approved by Council, and will take place over approximately the next two years.
The two-year implementation period is primarily due to the number of sign replacements needed, as well as the limited capacity of staff.
This issue had been before Council before: last October, a staff report had made similar speed reduction proposals, but Council chose to ask staff to study the issue further and also to investigate provincial speed mitigation funding opportunities.
Councillor Brian Eckhardt (Ward 2) was perhaps the leading proponent of making these changes on Council. He argued that significant changes are needed to improve safety and that the changes ultimately adopted by Council would do that.
“The old adage ‘speed kills’ hasn’t changed in 50 years,” argued Eckhardt. “It is proven from all the studies that are done both in North America and in Europe that reducing speed limits not only reduces personal injuries, fatalities, and collision, but it also reduces the amount of damage done and, in fact, reduces the amount of collisions.”
“The more time you have to recognize what’s going on makes it safer for drivers and, especially, pedestrians,” added Eckhardt. “I think this goes a long way in making Pelham a pedestrian-friendly Town.”
But not all Councillors were on board with the changes.
Councillor Shellee Niznik (Ward 3) didn’t support Council’s changes, calling the option her colleagues chose to go with “overkill.”
“I think most of the smaller subdivisions folks do drive at 40 km/h,” insisted Niznik. “We need to remember that the posted sign is a maximum.”
Still, Eckhardt’s argument seemed to win the day with a majority of his colleagues, with Eckhardt’s preferred option carrying handily.
Jay Goldberg is the Canadian Affairs Manager at the Consumer Choice Center. He previously served as the Ontario Director at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation and a policy fellow at the Munk School of Public Policy and Global Affairs. Jay holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Toronto.
