Safety boils down to driver behaviour

Despite stats, added safety measures called for on New Hamburg street

When it comes to New Hamburg’s Waterloo Street, it’s a matter of drivers’ common sense, according to Wilmot Township Mayor Les Armstrong.

“One of the things I’ve always said is ‘you can’t fix stupid,’” said Armstrong, a former member of the Waterloo Regional Police Service. “There is the occasional time when I miss my roof lights.”

Those comments came after a long discussion about Waterloo Street; specifically, the stretch between Lewis and Shade streets.

According to Bob Henderson, the Region of Waterloo’s manager of transportation engineering, the road is in need of better lighting, but speed and collision data shows there is no major issue with the road.

According to data compiled by the region, there were seven crashes from 2012 to 2016 between Lewis and Shade streets, five of which were southbound heading toward Huron Street. Regional staff has determined that the average speed on Waterloo Street is around 45 kilometres per hour and there are between 6,000 and 8,000 vehicles that drive down that stretch of road on a daily basis.

In 2013, speed advisory signs were installed both southbound and northbound on the road, with negligible results. However, Henderson said, there has been an increase of traffic on the road, so it could show that the speed advisory signs have worked.

In June 2016, chevrons were installed both northbound and southbound, but the small sample size is not substantial enough to indicate whether they are effective, although Henderson is optimistic.

“We have confidence that these signs will prevail and reduce collisions,” said Henderson.

Where Waterloo Street “bucks the trend,” says Henderson, is when the collisions are happening. Of those seven collisions between Lewis and Shade streets, four occurred during nighttime. Regional stats show 80 per cent of collisions happen during the day.

This meeting was especially poignant for Heather Wilson, a resident whose porch was destroyed by an allegedly impaired driver who plowed into her house on May 20. The region is still awaiting the collision report for that incident.

“We don’t even feel comfortable in our own living room anymore,” said Wilson, who was joined by nearby resident Amy Marcoux.

Wilson said since she and her husband moved into the house in September of last year, they have witnessed three collisions. Often, she said, when vehicles crash or have a near-miss, they take off.

“I see people hit the curb all the time,” said Marcoux. “Now, more than ever, we avoid our front lawn.” Is speed an issue? According to regional statistics, speed is not an issue on Waterloo Street. In fact, vehicles are going five km/h less than the posted 50 km/h speed limit.

However, Wilson and Marcoux want the township and region to look into traffic-calming measures, such as speed humps, to keep vehicles from speeding around the corner and into their homes.

With Waterloo Street a regional road that eventually turns into Snyder’s Road, it has to serve its purpose — moving people. “The problem is, a regional road is intended to move traffic,” said Armstrong. “But we’ll work at trying to find a solution.”

Coun. Al Junker suggested using “speed indicator” signs that tell drivers how fast they are going as a means of traffic control.

According to Henderson, the region has seen a “tripling effect” in collisions when speed indicator signs are placed just before a curve. He said occasionally drivers see it as a test to see how fast they can go.

Both Wilson and Marcoux asked council to approach the police about focusing on the area and nabbing dangerous drivers.

“That just takes a phone call to the police,” said Armstrong. “That’s something we can do.”