Woodstock Looking at Measures to Curb Speeding

Friday, 4 October 2019 14:06

As speeding remains an issue at different intersections in the city, Woodstock City council will look into the possibility of rearranging stop signs.

WOODSTOCK - Speeding continues to be a concern for residents in the Friendly City, which has prompted Woodstock City council to look into the matter.

A report was brought to staff during their meeting on Thursday, investigating the possibility of rearranging multiple stop signs in the community.

Mayor Trevor Birtch says this would improve the flow of traffic and keep drivers safe on the roads.

"When we look at stop signs, law-abiding citizens do follow those signs but there's always individuals who don't or they see that as a new opportunity to start accelerating their speed once again."

He says drivers should slow down while on the roads and help keep all of the community safe.

Mayor Birtch says all of the projects have been approved for this year and their resources have reached maximum capacity.

The report says the stop conditions are currently on all of the north and south roads, and staff has developed a plan to rearrange the signs where stop conditions would be on some the east and west roads.

In order to be distributed evenly, the stop signs would have to be put at six different intersections, including Victoria and Adelaide Street and Kent and George Street.

Staff's report also says the existing traffic by-law would need to be revised to reflect the changes and make the new stop conditions legal so they can be enforced.

Mayor Birtch says the report originally indicated they'd look to hire workers to install the new signs and remove the existing ones, which would cost anywhere from approximately $20,000 to $30,000. However he says council is aware of the ongoing concerns, and at this point they do not want to hire.

He adds the project will be brought up again when developing next year's budget.

"We'll continue to look into this and have staff monitor the resources and see if we can fit this in to future budgets."