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Speeding continues to trouble Powell River residents

City staff investigate vehicle volume and speeds in Townsite and Westview
speeding
CUTTING CORNERS: Cedar Street residents have asked City of Powell River to address the issue of drivers speeding down their street to avoid other Townsite stop signs. Chris Bolster photo

City of Powell River staff are conducting an ongoing investigation on vehicle speeding in residential neighbourhoods, but are currently not taking any action to address complaints of residents living on avenues in Townsite and Westview.

City director of infrastructure Tor Birtig reported to committee of the whole on Tuesday, August 30, the results of the recent monitoring of speeding and traffic volume on Cedar Street.

Residents along the Townsite road have continued to ask city hall to install traffic-calming measures, including stop signs and speed bumps to stop motorists from cutting down their street to avoid the stop signs on Poplar Street on their way to Arbutus Avenue.

Birtig said the city conducted traffic data collection on the road last May, in addition to investigations in 2015 and 2012.

“I don’t believe there are a lot of vehicles that are taking the shortcut,” Birtig told the committee. “It’s not a lot of traffic.”

Birtig conceded there are times when cars do speed along the road, but he added, “I don’t think there’s anything you can put on the road that is going to stop them.”

Staff determined that peak traffic volume on Cedar was 167 vehicles per day, about 17 cars per hour, and the majority of cars travelled on the street under the posted speed limit, at speeds between approximately 35 to 50 kilometres per hour.

Birtig said staff will continue to monitor driving on Cedar, but traffic-calming measures are unwarranted.

Staff were directed to contact the residents directly with the study’s findings.

Cedar residents, meanwhile, were not the only ones asking the city to step in to reduce traffic volumes and speeds. Harvie Avenue residents in Westview behind Crossroads Village Shopping Centre also sent in a petition signed by 15 people requesting that speed bumps be incorporated into the work currently being done to resurface the road in front of their homes.

According to the petition, residents say there have been “too many accidents in the past with speeding drivers.” The petition does not provide further context.

City councillor Jim Palm, one of several councillors to speak to the issue, said this was not the first time council had heard from the neighbourhood and that the stop sign on the corner of Abbotsford Street and Harvie was placed there after neighbours complained about eight years ago.

“Speeding issues in Powell River are nothing new,” stated Palm. “We deal with this time in and time out.”

Palm warned that a “dangerous” precedent would be set if the city agreed to resident requests for speed bumps.

“If we put speed bumps on Harvie,” he said, “everyone’s going to want them.”