Get ready to slow down in Champlain Township.
On Thursday, May 23, township council adopted a bylaw which will reduce the speed limit on all streets under township jurisdiction in the urban areas of Vankleek Hill and L’Orignal from 50 kilometres per hour to 40 kilometres per hour. In Vankleek Hill, that means every street except Main Street/County Road 10 which is under the jurisdiction of the United Counties of Prescott and Russell (UCPR) and High Street/Highway 34 which is under the jurisdiction of the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO). In L’Orignal, every street except Longueuil Street/County Road 11, King Street/County Road 24 and parts of Bay Road and Front Road West, which are also part of County Road 24.
“We’re looking at speed limit control being reduced from 50 to 40,” Mayor Normand Riopel said.
Councillor Paul Burroughs asked Riopel if efforts were being made anywhere in the UCPR to implement photo radar, particularly in school zones.
Director of Public Works Sebastien Levesque said the Town of Hawkesbury is studying photo radar and their report, once it is available, could be used as a resource.
“How come you don’t have all the streets in Vankleek Hill on there?” asked Councillor Paul-Emile Duval.
Levesque said only the streets drivers enter from roads under UCPR or provincial jurisdiction were listed in the report he prepared for council because only signs notifying drivers of the 40 kilometres per hour speed limit will be placed at those entry points.
Councillor Sarah Bigelow asked if the speed limit reduction was partly the result of a petition for lower speed limits from residents of Mill Street in Vankleek Hill.
Levesque said it was just one of the reasons.
“There has been a lot of requests from different streets,” he said.
Councillor Peter Barton said he was pleased with the effort to reduce excessive speed on urban streets but wants the law enforced.
“Ultimately without some policing of this issue, it’s probably not going to change very much unfortunately,” Barton said.
He suggested council and township staff encourage community policing of the situation by the OPP. Riopel suggested council send a letter to the Hawkesbury OPP Detachment Commander notifying of the speed limit changes and desire for more enforcement.
Councillor Michel Lalonde suggested a speed limit reduction to 40 kilometres per hour for the streets which are county roads in both L’Orignal and VKH.
Duval asked if the same reduction could be applied in Vankleek Hill to the streets which are part of Highway 34.
Councillor Gerry Miner then suggested the speed limit on both Front Road East/County Road 4 and all of Front Road West/County Road 24 be reduced to 40 kilometres per hour. The current speed limit on the Champlain section of Front Road East is 60 kilometres per hour, and it is 50 kilometres per hour on Front Road West.
In addition to adopting the resolution and bylaw changing the speed limit to 40 kilometres per hour on urban streets under township jurisdiction, council approved resolutions requesting speed limit reductions on streets under UCPR and MTO jurisdiction.
