(File photo/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Speed reduction initiative

Town applying for grant for signage to help slow down traffic

Aug 17, 2021 | 12:25 PM

The Town of Battleford hopes to receive provincial funding to purchase signage to encourage drivers to slow down, especially considering schools are set to start again in September.

Council agreed to administration’s recommendation to apply for the Provincial Traffic Safety Fund Grant for the Speed Reduction Initiative Project at this week’s meeting.

Mayor Ames Leslie says, “it’s a great idea.”

“You won’t have to give out tickets, if people choose to slow down. It’s the preferred option,” he said.

The town plans to install the following: 22 regular school area right/left signs and Prepare-To-Stop signs; four of the “I-Safe1 SL Speed Display” systems, which displays the speed of approaching vehicles; and one “Ver- Mac Speed Feedback Trailer,” a trailer-mounted speed sign to show drivers their current speed.

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The project will focus on high traffic areas, school zones and playgrounds, as part of the Speed Reduction Initiative. The signs/display systems will be placed at 21st Street, 23rd Street, 25th Street, Second Avenue, Fourth Avenue and Central Avenue in Battleford.

The total grant requested for the project, including a contingency amount, is $29,350.

In his submitted report, CAO Ash Alam said people are concerned about drivers speeding so this is a way to help address the issue.

“Residents of the Town of Battleford frequently express concerns regarding unsafe speed and look for ways to improve speed compliance,” he said.

Alam said from November 2020 until June 2021, the town received over 75 citizen complaints about speeding in and around school zones and children’s playgrounds.

“There were some near-miss incidents accrued during the last 12 months where kids were almost hit by speeding vehicles or aggressive drivers crossing the street,” he added.

Alam said installing signs that help slow down traffic will serve as an important safety measure to control traffic near schools.

He indicated studies completed in Canada and the U.S. show 35.5 per cent to 68.2 per cent of drivers self-reported that radar speed signs are helpful or very helpful at informing them of their speed while driving, and 56.5 per cent to 66.1 per cent agreed or strongly agreed they are effective at causing them to slow down.

Mayor Leslie says the stats are a good indicator that more people are more cognizant of their speed when these speed signs are in use.

He said with the signs informing up to 68 per cent of drivers, that’s a significant amount.

“If you can get it up to that, that’s a lot of people that will be slowing down,” he said.

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow