Speed limit reduction proposed for corner

The speed limit may soon be reduced near an intersection in East City where a 10-year-old was hit by a car in front of her school in November.

A new city staff report calls for the speed limit to be reduced from 50 km/h to 40 km/h on Hunter St. E. between Rogers St. and Ashburnham Dr., near King George Public School.

Other safety features are being proposed there too: new caution signs, for instance, as well as countdown pedestrian signals and ladder crosswalk pavement markings.

Although councillors have already approved a morning crossing guard, city staff recommends additional safety features (which are expected to cost about $20,000 in total).

In November, 10-year-old Melissa Petrauskas was struck by a car outside King George Public School just after 4 p.m. (the dismissal-hour crossing guard’s shift had ended.)

Although she wasn’t seriously injured, the girl suffered tissue damage .

A month after the incident, council voted to add a morning crossing guard at the intersection (at a cost of about $3,000 annually).

But there were still concerns about safety from parents, so city staff did a review of the intersection and recommended the additional changes.

Councillors are expected to consider it for the first time on Wednesday at a special general committee meeting.

That meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall, just prior to a public meeting regarding the municipal budget for 2019.

Starting at 7 p.m., councillors will hear from citizens on their spending priorities for next year.

Councillors are considering a tax hike of 2.5 per cent for 2019, but want to hear from people first about whether they are prepared to pay that much – and about where they think the city should spend.

Council is also holding aspecial general committee meeting from 5:30 to 7 p.m.:

Transportation Master Plan review

Councillors will review a progress update of the city’s Transportation Master Plan from 2012

The plan was designed to guide the city’s transportation planning until 2031.

According to the status update, the city has completed or gotten started on 60 per cent of the plan’s 102 recommendations for transportation improvement.

The city has already completed the reconstruction of Ashburnham Dr., for instance, as well as the reconstruction of Brealey Dr. between Fleming Dr. and Lansdowne St. W. (both done in 2016).

The city also completed the reconstruction of Otonabee Dr. in 2017, the report points out, and several bike trails around the city have either been completed or are being planned.