CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — More than 100 residents on North River Road in Charlottetown are asking the city to deal with speeding traffic.
Coun. Mike Duffy, who represents Ward 3, presented the city with a petition with 102 names on it at the regular public monthly meeting of council on Monday.
The petition is calling on the city to reduce the speed limit on North River Road from 40 km/h to 30 km/h, install speed humps or other traffic-calming devices in strategically-placed areas, and to crack on heavy truck traffic that is using parts of the road it isn’t permitted to.
Duffy said according to the bylaw, heavy trucks are permitted to turn off Capital Drive onto North River Road but are only permitted to travel as far south as Beach Grove Road.
However, the residents who submitted the petition are primarily concerned about trucks travelling south on North River Road, from McGill Avenue to Brighton Road.
“They can’t proceed onward and they do it all the time. The police do not enforce (the bylaw)," Duffy said.
As for the speed limit, it is posted at 30 km/h in school zones such as Queen Charlotte Intermediate School.
Duffy acknowledges that North River Road is one of the main arteries into the city but, unlike other arteries, such as St. Peters Road, North River Road is almost entirely residential south of Beach Grove Road.
“I have gotten complaints from residents on North River Road before. It is a walking ward. I have three elementary schools, a junior high, a senior high, a hockey rink, two major churches, two swimming pools when you count Victoria Park, elderly seniors, I mean it just goes on and on. It’s a small walking neighbourhood."
Coun. Bob Doiron, chairman of council’s standing committee on protective and emergency services, participated in Monday’s council meeting by teleconference call and said his committee will discuss the petition at its next meeting.
