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Brant County To Introduce Brant Safe Streets

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Brant Safe Streets will look to make the roads in Brant County just a little bit safer. They will be focusing on several factors including distracted driving and aggressive driving, the two biggest causes of collisions in Brant.

BRANT COUNTY - Brant Safe Streets is a new strategy that focuses on engaging the community to help calm traffic and take new measures to improve driver attention. 

Brant County Mayor David Bailey says that council was happy to support this strategy. 

"We have heard from many citizens that speeding is a growing concern on County roads. In order to calm traffic, we need to work together." 

Speeding is the biggest concern on primary roads such as Grand River St. North in Paris and Colborne Street East and West. However speeding is not the main culprit for accidents, accounting for just 1.7%. The main factors for collisions in Brant are distracted driving, contact with animals and aggressive driving. 

The County will begin implementing the strategy in September and will target problem areas.

The four parts of the strategy include:

1. Mobile Brant Safe Streets Systems

To create local awareness, interest and to share information about safe driving, the County of Brant will deploy mobile Brant Safe Streets systems for 2-4 weeks in problem areas as requested by residents. The system will include a variety of signage, speed spies to gather data and public education. The systems will move around the County, based on residents’ requests. Residents can request a Mobile Brant Safe Streets System by visiting here and filling in the form. Mobile systems will begin rolling out in mid-October.

2. Permanent Safety Measures in Targeted Areas

Installing permanent solutions are ideal for problem areas and will include a variety of signage, line painting to reduce the driver’s speed and increase the driver’s focus, installation of vertical delineators and increased enforcement, to name a few.

3. Brant Safe Streets “Pace Car” Program
 
Residents are encouraged to be an Ambassador for safe driving and enroll in the Pace Car program. By doing this, you are agreeing to drive the posted speed limit, engage in more courteous and respectful driving behaviour and become an ambassador of safe driving in the community. Many Pace Cars work to calm traffic throughout a neighbourhood. The more people who participate, the better it works!

4. Road Construction and Reconstruction

As new roads are being designed or existing roads are being redesigned, a number of components will be included which may include raised intersections to slow drivers and protect pedestrians, centre medians with landscaping to improve driver attentiveness, speed humps to gradually slow traffic, roundabouts to reduce intersection conflicts and smooth traffic flow, bike lanes and multi-use paths and road curvature and texture to calm and constrain the roadway area.

You can help make the roads safer by:

- Joining the Pace Car program and being an Ambassador for safe driving.
- Requesting a mobile Brant Safe Streets system for a problem area.
- Focusing on the road and avoiding distractions.
- Watching for animals, particularly at dawn and dusk.
- Obeying the speed limits.
- Being a courteous driver and leaving extra room ahead of you in case the vehicle in front suddenly stops.
- Yielding to the right of way.
- Always checking your blind spots.
- Driving sober.
- Be alert.

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