Due to an unexpected road block, Bradford's community and traffic safety advisory committee has changed course on plans to limit left turns for traffic exiting Holy Trinity Catholic High School onto Veterans Street.
Council approved a recommendation from the committee March 19 to instead install speed humps across the width of the street at three locations, and to have the street officially included on the list of community safety zones (CSZs).
Council previously approved the plan to prohibit left turns during the Feb. 6 council meeting, after which the committee attempted to put that plan into gear, only for things to stall.
Ward 5 Coun. Peter Ferragine chairs the committee and in an interview after Tuesday’s meeting explained that on closer inspection, committee members realized there wasn’t enough room to install a centre median in order to enforce the prohibition on left turns. As a result, they had concerns that drivers would just turn left anyways, or instead perform U-turns or use Blackwell Crescent to turn around.
“We realized it was a false hope, because you’re sticking those signs out there, but it’s going to be tough to enforce it,” he said. “Now with this situation with the speed humps, it’s forcing you to slow down.”
Those humps are expected to be similar to the ones found on Blue Dasher Boulevard, and they are now planned to be installed along Veterans in three locations: east of Sutherland Avenue, west of Blackwell Crescent and between the two school entrances.
The cost is expected to be about $10,000, funded from the committee’s traffic mitigation fund.
Ferragine reiterated that dealing with traffic problems remains council’s top priority and he hopes this new plan with tackle the trouble spot.
“There are specific roads that keep coming up to us all the time,” he said. “We are waiting for the traffic mitigation strategy to actually work with the rest of town, but this was a situation that was brought up and it was a big concern by our local traffic officers because they can see it all the time.”
Members of South Simcoe Police Service regularly attend the committee’s meeting to lend support and provide input, and those working out of Bradford also have the opportunity to observe Veterans as the South Division building is located just east of the intersection with Melbourne Drive.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Deputy Mayor Raj Sandhu recalled the street being an issue when he was the councillor for Ward 1, and current Ward 1 Coun. Cheraldean Duhaney confirmed that's still true.
“I get emails every day about these problems,” she said.
While Mayor James Leduc acknowledged that he initially recommended the speed humps as an alternative, he later realized there had been no consultation with paramedics or firefighters who both have locations nearby.
“The more speed bumps we put in, the longer it costs an ambulance or a firetruck to get somewhere,” he said.
However, Ward 4 Coun. Joseph Giordano, who sits on the committee and pushed for the humps on Blue Dasher, suggested that was “misinformation,” because previous investigations of those humps involved feedback from police, fire and paramedics and determined the designs have “virtual no effect on emergency vehicles.”
“It’s so minimal that it wouldn’t affect their delivery times,” he said. “It’s a perfect solution for an area that’s desperately in need of it.”
Ferragine also pointed out that similar humps had been given the “OK” from emergency responders for “major corridors” including West Park Avenue and Summerlyn Trail.
Following the meeting, Ferragine also explained that Veterans was previously intended to be included in the list of new CSZs recommended by the committee and approved by council on Oct. 3, 2023, but was accidentally omitted.
The change is effectively clerical in nature, since the street was already being treated as a CSZ, including signage to alert drivers of the need for caution and the potential for increased fines.
