‘I THINK IT’S URGENT’
Councillor’s motion will consider truck ban in Ayr core
Problems with large trucks in downtown Ayr are getting worse and regional councillors are hoping to get some traction on solving them.
“This issue has always been around, but in the last few years the number of trucks has increased to hundreds of trucks per day,” said Coun. Kari Williams, who worked with local residents to craft a motion that would have staff study solutions including, but not limited to, a truck ban in the core.
Notice of the motion to be considered next week appeared on last week’s planning and public works agenda and drew delegations from the local community who cited ongoing safety issues, in particular at the intersections of Northumberland, Stanley and Swan streets.
“My front door is about 12, 15 feet off of the road, so it’s kind of a scary situation at times,” said Jeff Gilchrist, a Swan Street resident with photos and video of trucks climbing curbs, driving over sidewalks and damaging infrastructure, including part of the cenotaph at the corner of Northumberland and Stanley streets.
Trucks attempt to make this turn near a school crossing while the crossing guard is trying to get kids from the sidewalk to the cenotaph, noted North Dumfries’ Mayor Sue Foxton.
“One time I was there, it was two 50-foot trucks connected and two 50-foot trucks connected behind them, and the second truck didn’t think they’d have to stop for kids or anybody that came through,” she said.
Regional councillor and former North Dumfries mayor Rob Deutschmann noted that the issue with truck traffic in Ayr predates his tenure as mayor.
Reconstruction of Ayr’s downtown streetscape in 2019 was designed to promote active transportation. One of the “silent objectives” of keeping the cenotaph at the intersection was to discourage truck traffic, noted Foxton.
“Didn’t happen,” she said, noting that some companies have strict policies in place to keep drivers out of the core, as it makes sense for them as well; however, the majority do not.
“We all have to back up to let the trucks around,” said Nadine Feser, a local resident who said she’s concerned for the safety of children and seniors after hearing some scary stories: “An older lady told me that she had to jump out of the way of a truck on the sidewalk while she was walking her dog and a young mother told me she slammed on the brakes while driving her kid to school in the morning to avoid a head-on collision with a big truck.”
At first, Feser thought measures to curtail truck traffic were important.
“I think it’s urgent now,” she told council.
“We want the kids riding their bicycles to their friends’ houses and we want people, pedestrians, to fill up the downtown core.”
The township passed a resolution last fall requesting that the region designate Northumberland Street
a no-truck route, from Cedar Creek Road to Stanley Street.
“It’s a no-brainer,” according to Foxton.
“The region’s spent millions of dollars making Trussler Road a truck route.”
Trucks are currently coming down Northumberland Street and using Swan Street, turning right on to Dumfries Road to get to Trussler, a practice that will likely be emboldened this year while the region constructs a new roundabout at Trussler Road and Cedar Creek Road, Foxton said.
“We’re a main route for a lot of southwestern Ontario to get to and from the 401,” she said, “so traffic on any given day is packed, and a lot of them are going all the way down to Simcoe.”
Trucks coming through the downtown on Wrigley Road should be redirected to Trussler Road via Reidsville Road and Brant-Waterloo Road, said Foxton, though infrastructure upgrades are required.
“We had one truck that actually almost took out a pole in front of my establishment,” said Sandra Silva, the owner of Hitched Coffee on Northumberland, adding that people are scared to park their cars in the limited on-street spots available due to the tight turning radius.
“They’re eventually going to either take out a vehicle or they’re going to take out a structure,” Silva told the Record. “It’s just a matter of time.”
Williams’ motion considers interim measures such as posting signs warning oversized vehicles of the limitations of the downtown route and working with local industry to provide information to truck drivers.