Speed changes come as a surprise
to Island Rd. residents
by Blake Wolfe/The Scugog Standard

Scugog Island residents will be travelling a little slower this month, after construction on Island Rd. prompted Durham Region staff to temporarily lower the speed limit from 80 km/h to 60 km/h with little notice, causing confusion and surprise for more than a few motorists.

The sudden change, however, is the result of recent provincial legislation giving municipalities the power to alter speed limits in construction zones without a traffic study or subsequent bylaw.

At least a few motorists were caught off guard last week by the new speed limit, which one resident said was posted as late as Wednesday (June 30). Other motorists told The Standard that large portable signs advertising the change were not in place until Friday (July 2).

“It’s dangerous to change a speed limit sign without any warning,” said Scugog Island resident Anne Allen in a letter to The Standard, adding that she is concerned the reduced speed limit may result in some drivers receiving unexpected speeding tickets. “Drivers are impatiently speeding around the slower traffic probably with a few choice words about the person who did notice the sign and is driving slower.”

According to Jeff Pammett, a traffic engineering supervisor for Durham Region, the speed limit reduction is only a temporary one, scheduled to revert once construction on the road is finished later this summer. Mr. Pammett added that under recent provincial legislation, municipalities are now allowed to reduce the speed limit of a road during construction periods without a traffic study or enactment of a corresponding bylaw. The same legislation, which came into effect March 31, 2006, also increases fines for infractions such as speeding in a construction zone or disobeying construction signage.

A government description of the amendment to the Transportation Statute Law reads in part:

“Under the new legislation, municipalities have the option of reducing speed limits in construction zones without passing a bylaw. The municipal council simply delegates the authority to designate a construction zone, and with that the authority to set the speed limit to a senior staff member who ensures that records are kept detailing when a construction zone speed is changed. The reduced speed limit becomes effective once the required signs are posted.”

The description continues:

“The Act requires that a construction zone must be clearly marked with standard ‘Construction Zone Begins’ and ‘Construction Zone Ends’ signs found in Regulation 615 of the HTA and in the Ontario Traffic Manual Book 7. The reduced speed limit becomes effective once the required signs are posted.”

Although new speed limit signs were posted along Island Rd. last week, a number of local residents said that they were unaware of the change until Friday (July 2), when large lighted signs advising of the new speed were brought to the roadway.

A bulletin posted on the Region’s ‘Traffic Watch’ web page, found at www.durham.ca within the Traffic Department subsection, states that work to culverts and the road surface between Hwy. 7A and Chandler Dr. commenced June 14 and is expected to wrap up by July 31, but makes no mention of a reduced speed limit.

Cst. Darrin Macduff, Traffic Safety Coordinator for the Durham Police Service’s 15 Division in Port Perry, said that police will be enforcing the new speed limit, adding that a reduction in speed, albeit a temporary one, may help in reducing the number of collisions for which the road is known. A serious accident, in which one driver failed to remain at the scene, took place there in mid-June.