Report indicates country roads a haven for speeders

It appears that rural roads in north Halton continue to be a haven for speeders. According to the 2005 State of the Regional Road System Report presented to the Region's planning and public works committee last Wednesday, at least half a dozen segments of local rural roads made Halton's top 20 list of high-speed locations. They include: · Winston Churchill Blvd., 500 metres north of Hwy. 7 · Winston Churchill Blvd., between 5 and 10 Sideroads · Regional Rd. 25, 500m south of 32 Sideroad · No. 20 Sideroad, west of Guelph Line. · Guelph Line, north of Steeles Avenue. · Derry Road, east of Milburough Line. · Tremaine Road, north of Britannia Road. Region staff has explained before that speeding is predominant in the rural area because there are no indicators on rural roads for drivers to slow down, like parked cars or curbs. The report also reveals that the majority of drivers in Halton are traveling between five and 20 km/h over the posted limits and the number of motorists who break the speed limit by more than 35 km/h has increased from zero per cent in 2004 to .5 per cent in 2005. The document goes on to point out that traffic congestion, particularly along the east-west corridors in south Halton, continues to be problematic. "Regional roads in south Halton such as Dundas Street and Upper Middle Road are experiencing levels of severe congestion during the peak periods," the report says. "In north Halton, parts of Derry Road, Steeles Avenue, Ninth Line, Winston Churchill Boulevard and Regional Road 25 are experiencing moderate levels of congestion." On a more positive note, it indicates that about 71 per cent of the regional road system pavement is considered to be in satisfactory or good condition. The report also analyzes Community Safety Zones, which have increased fines for speeding, that have been set up on Maple Avenue in Georgetown and Guelph Line in Brookville. It concludes that the measure has "little or no effect when it comes to dictating an appropriate speed within these zones." At the committee meeting, Burlington Councillor John Taylor argued that Community Safety Zones don't work. He said that there's no proof that doubling fines results in a significant reduction in speeders. "It's nothing more than a cash grab," he said. Despite Taylor's argument, the committee went on to support maintaining the zones on Guelph Line and Maple Avenue. The matter will go before regional council today (Wednesday).