To the Editor,
Re: Some common sense would lead to fewer problems (Observer, Aug. 3/23).
As a resident living with our backyard facing Whippoorwill Drive, the speeding has been a problem for a long time. In your comments, “common sense would lead to fewer problems,” common sense was tried years ago. Speeding along the road is not a perception, but is real. Traffic studies are often misleading because when a rubber hose is placed across a road to collect data, people by nature slow down before running over it with their vehicles.
Firstly, everyone knows the speed limit on that road. Most people obey it, but there are those who think these rules don’t apply to them. Some deliberately race down Whippoorwill Drive, weaving in and out of the speed bollards. People complain that they are hitting the bollards, but yet a full-sized school bus can navigate them with no issues.
It used to be a problem on weekends, but now it is an everyday occurrence. This traffic can be coming all the way from Church Street to Whippoorwill to Arthur Street with absolutely nothing in the way of stop signs, caution lights or signs to reduce speed. Frustrated property owners, including myself, would complain to the township. Traffic-calming bollards were installed for a few years now, usually before the May 24 weekend to around Thanksgiving, and they worked. Now they are being removed and stolen by those who don’t want to obey the speed limit. This illegal act of vandalism cost taxpayers money, all taxpayers. The bollards were installed for public safety.
Consider this scenario, there is a huge development on the south side of Whippoorwill in the early days of home building. Once completed, there could be hundreds of children crossing that road on the way back and forth to schools. They will be using the trails in the woods and the Lions trail. Now another huge development on Barnswallow Drive will also be using that road. Recently, the property on the other side of the drainage ditch, (Barnswallow and Whippoorwill), has been sold to developers. Whippoorwill will become a traffic nightmare if township officials don’t take action now.
I worked in Halton Region for many years. They have similar winters to us here in Woolwich Township. They have permanent raised speed bumps and raised crossing areas on their arterial roads. In areas around schools, Halton has lowered the speed limit is 40 km/h. Across this region, the residential streets in Waterloo are being lowered to 30 km/h with speed bollards. The Township of Woolwich needs to adopt these policies.
Speed bumps need to be placed on Whippoorwill Drive, with a stop sign at Nighthawk. The speed bumps need to be placed on both sides of the road at the Whippoorwill entrance of the Lions trail. Additional speed bumps need to be placed on both sides of the road on the Whippoorwill entrance to the trails entering the woods. This action needs to be planned for now before some child is injured or killed by a speeding vehicle.
The township is usually complaining about shortages of funds. A photo radar camera needs to be installed on Whippoorwill at Nighthawk facing Barnswallow, similar to the one currently being employed in Winterbourne on Katherine Street. This will be a reminder that those speeding on our road have consequences.
In the meantime, the residents of Elmira with properties facing Whippoorwill will have to put up with the speedway until the snow falls.
Steve Racey
Elmira
