www.insidehalton.com |O A K V IL L E B E A V E R |Thursday, November 23, 2017 |3 6 Town to invest $15K to slow traffic on local roads by David Lea O akville Beaver S ta ff The Town of Oakville will invest $ 1 5 ,0 0 0 in an effort to slow traffic on local streets. The Community Services Committee heard a report Nov. 13 from the Town' s Engineering and Construction Department, which focused on use of public education to reduce local speeding. The funding request for it was approved by Council Monday (Nov. 20). The $1 5 ,0 0 0 -- from the Town' s Traffic Calming Budget -- will pay for a number of public education initiatives aimed at getting people to slow down. This includes $ 4 ,2 0 0 for newspaper ads, $ 2 ,4 0 0 for mobile signs that let people know when they are speeding, $ 6 ,0 0 0 for ads on traffic shelters and $ 2 ,4 0 0 for the creation and distribution of neighbourhood speeding postcards. The postcards would be distributed to residents in areas that have reported a speeding issue. "The intent of such postcards is to create awareness within the residents of a specific street that the speeding concern has been reported, what action will be initiated from the Town and what might be the end result if speeds are found to be above the acceptable P U B L IC N O T IC E H a lt o n R e g io n 2 0 1 8 B u d g e t a n d B u s in e s s P la n The proposed 2018 Budget and Business Plan for Halton Region, including the Regional property tax levy, water and wastewater rates, user fees and charges, will be considered at the follow ing meetings: · Tuesday, Decem ber 5 9:30 a.m. Health & Social Services Cttee. · Wednesday, December 6 9:30 a.m. Planning & Public Works Cttee. · Thursday, December 7 9:30 a.m. Administration & Finance Cttee. · Wednesday, December 13 9:30 a.m. Regional Council All of the above m eetings will be held at the Halton Regional Centre, located at 1151 Bronte Road in Oakville.The proposed 2018 Budget and Business Plan is available on Halton's website at h a lto n .c a / b u d g e t. Alternatively, the docum ent can be obtained free of charge from or viewed at the Office of the Regional Clerk located at the Halton Regional Centre, Monday to Friday, between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Halton residents are invited to provide input on the proposed 2018 Budget and Business Plan. If you wish to register as a delegate to address one of the Committees noted above, please contact the Office of the Regional Clerk at 905-825-6000, ext. 7405. You may also provide input or comm ents on Halton's website at h a lto n .c a / b u d g e t. thresholds," said Traffic Technologist D. Crkvenjas in a report to the committee. "Delivery of the postcards is planned during the annual data collection program in spring and fall." Town staff said speeding on local roads is one of the most common concerns council receives from residents. They noted that usually when the concerns are investigated, it is discovered the majority of motorists are obeying the speed limit with just a small group creating a sense that the street has a speeding issue. "Often times, in a case of a residential road, the same residents that are living on the street are likely to be speeding offenders," stated Crkvenjas in the report. The Town is engaged in an ongoing Pedestrian and Transportation Safety Campaign, which saw the Town repeatedly partner with Halton police to combat distracted driving. Those initiatives saw Halton police strategically placed along the Trafalgar Road corridor where numerous distracted drivers were caught. Postcards containing messaging about the Distracted Driver Campaign were distributed to several Oakville GO lots. The Town also promoted the campaign through its newsletter, e-talk, social media, and the Oakville Beaver. Another campaign that saw partnership between Halton police and the Town was the Back to School Safety Campaign. This initiative saw the two groups promote increased awareness and safe driving habits around school zones at the start of the school year. W hen it comes to physically forcing vehicles to slow down, the Town says the speeding situation has to be pretty severe. Town staff noted on the Town website that there are currently only three local roadways that qualified for physical traffic calming (e.g. speed cushions) in 2017. These include: · Pinegrove Road -- Fourth Line to Warwick Avenue · Ridge Drive -- Sixth Line to Kent Avenue · Great Lakes Boulevard -- Lakeshore Road West to Buena Vista Court Town staff said that as part of the process affected stakeholders would be asked if they support the implementation of traffic calming measures on the roadway. The Town will move forward with these measures only if more than 50 per cent of these stakeholders are in favour of them. If that threshold is not met, the process will be terminated and the residents notified in writing. For more information on speeding and traffic calming, visit www.oakville.ca. W a r m & d r y . Warm Blundstone W inter boots shut out nasty weather w ith genuine 100% wool fleece and cold-defying ThinsulateTM . Waterproof leather, elastics and seams. Pull-on, kick-off comfort for cold &wet Canadian weather. #584 The Winter in Rustic Brown. $259.95 P re p a rin g fo r w in t e r e m e rg e n c ie s With co lder w eather ap p ro ach in g, it is im p o rtan t to plan for em e rge ncie s that co uld o ccu r in the w inter m on ths to com e. Halton's ow n e m e rge n cy m an age m e n t plans and program s ensure w e are ready to respond and essential services rem ain available w hen you need them m ost. You can take three easy steps to help protect yourself, yo ur fam ily and yo u r property: know the risks, m ake a plan and g e t a kit. Your efforts help su p p o rt first responders and further strengthen our c o m m u n ity resilience-- to learn more, visit h a lt o n .c a / b e p r e p a r e d . G ary Carr Regional Chair Meetings at Halton Region, 1151 Bronte Rd., Oakville, L 6M 3L1 Visit halton.ca/m eetings for full schedule. T a s m a n ia A u s t r a l ia is 7 n Dec 5 Dec 6 9:30 a.m. Health & Social Services 9:30 a.m. Planning & Public Works Dec 7 Dec 13 9:30 a.m. Administration & Finance 9:30 a.m. Regional Council Please contact us, as soon as possible, if you have any accessibility needs at Halton Region events or meetings. F a c to ry S h o e O u tle t 2394 Fairview St. Burlington, 905-632-9688