Marianne Meed WardBased on analysis of traffic data on speeding, cut-through traffic and other measures, city staff have determined that both Prospect and Woodward warrant the installation of speed bumps.
City transportation staff are hosting a public drop in to review proposed traffic calming measures for Prospect St. and Woodward Ave. Drop in during the times below to review plans and share your input with staff:
Details:
Date: Tues. Sept. 19
Time: 6-7 Prospect Street
Time: 7:30-8:30pm Woodward Ave
Location: Salvation Army Fellowship Hall, 2090 Prospect St
Prospect resident letter (includes traffic data): Prospect Street – TC Letterbj
Prospect plan: Prospect Street TC Map Prospect Street TC Map 2
Woodward plan: Woodward Avenue TC Map(1)
Woodward resident letter (includes traffic data): Woodward Avenue – TC Letter
Contact:
Transportation Services Department
Street calming would not be necessary if the speed limit was enforced every day. Street calming bumps make little difference to anyone driving an SUV…stand along Ghent and watch drivers sail over them. A police presence and high fines would work better, especially during the night on Prospect when Cars exceed 80+k.
I’ve lived on Prospect Street near Tom Thompson school for 22 years. I see no need for
speed bumps. The police do a good job. the school crossing guard is great. Speed bumps cause excessive wear and tear/ pollution as vehicles brake, speed up and break again. They definitely slow down emergency response times for fire trucks, ambulances and police vehicles. They just finished a decent modification at the Prospect/ Drury Lane intersection and all is good. Don’t ruin it with unnecessary speed bumps.
Thanks.
We live just off of Prospect, and I can tell you that there is a lot of enforcement going on through the day. I often work from home and the police car sits right in front of my house pulling people over for almost an entire day. I bet he gives out 50 to 100 tickets while he’s there. He’s back week after week, so although the speed is being “enforced”, there does not appear to be any reduction in speeding though our neighbourhood.
I welcome the speed bumps, I hope they will act as a deterrent to speeders both through the day and at night (we always hear speeding cars and motorcycles at least every night). It’s really a residential street, although I believe most people use it as a pass-through without any consideration to the people who live here. If you are lucky enough to live on a winding residential road or a court, count yourself lucky that you don’t have to deal with this issue.
The other issue with enforcement is that we are all paying for that cop to sit there all day writing tickets. How much are we paying to have him sit there, is that cost recovered from all the tickets? He does write a lot of them, but I doubt it covers the cost of him sitting there all day. Also, what other more important things could the cop be doing as opposed to writing tickets for idiot speeders. I do think enforcement should still be used, but it’s pretty clear that it’s not leading to a reduction in speeding because people are not changing their habits.
the city is responding too quickly . I take each street and rarely see a pedestrian. Please not every street needs a speed bump
Many of the streets surrounding the New Street Fiasco including secondary routes such as Spruce now have “speed bumps”–a recognition by the City of what a mess and idiotic policy the New Street Fiasco truly is.
Think hard…. when’s the last time you saw kids playing in the streets….. years ago…. no need for bumps if you put speed signs
Signs are up & it’s residental streets. There are signs in my hood unfortunately, with a growing City increased cars, people rushing many don’t pay attention.
Meadowbrook has no speed bumps and it’s a race way. People can’t pull out of their drivers. If people followed the laws we would not have to have speed bumps.
All the City is doing is putting a bandaids on the streets. It’s not working. Meadowbrook has zero speed bumps. All the Cities drunk drivers come through ward 3!
Héroux Danni noticed a lot more drinking and driving, and not from my generation either. Speed bumps need to be in high traffic like your neighbourhood and also in front of school zones.
Police need to be in these zones handing out tickets. It will learn a better lesson if it comes out of their pocket rather than slowing over a speed bump. City gets revenue, neighborhoods get people doing the speed limit. Win Win
Katie McGrath, not from our generation. Couple years between us. 😉 YES!
BINGO!
Lisa Cooper, I agree. Halton is a growing City. Our community officers are streching as it is.
It’s a simple LAW yet, difficult for many.
Talking about school zones. It’s disgusting to see some parents exceeding the speed limit to get their kid to school. Or flipping the bird to another parent for feeling “they have been cut off”
Héroux Danni no but I’m saying 40-80 age bracket is bad for it because, they use to have a couple at the bars and than drive home all the time. A lot of they time do because that was the norm back than
The city spends thousands to patch up potholes so that the roads are smooth. Now they spend thousands installing speed bumps so the roads are not smooth. What’s to logic in that?
The streets should be made with real concerete. Long term less maintenance. Not, this black asphalt.
A reminder that all those “traffic calming” measures also help to delay emergency vehicles, too…
Speed bumps on Prospect are not the answer. We will soon have speed bumps on every road. Drivers take altenate routes to avoid them then residents on those streets complain. We need more police monitoring at 5 o-clock traffic and higher fines.
Who the hell can speed in Burlington at 5:00 ? Maybe 2:30 pm but by 5:00 the city is mostly gridlock
Did the study take into consideration what this installation will do to the surrounding roads? Since the install on Woodward, people have been using our little street (Tallman) as a cut through.
Yes, staff do monitor the impact on surrounding roads, as well as the outcome of speed bumps to see if speed was reduced.
Marianne Meed Ward yes but then its too late
Bruce Bond It is the law of unintended consequences which the staff do not seem to be aware of or perhaps maybe willfully ignore. Look for contacts in the concrete business calling on staff perhaps..
Cut through traffic and speeding you say? Well lets spend a pile of cash for our buddies in the concrete business on “traffic calming.” Did anyone at City Hall consider “traffic enforcement, aka the police” as an alternative first?
Yes, enforcement was present for many years, and will continue as needed.
I drive for a living and the enforcement here in Burlington and Ontario is virtually non-existent as compared to other jurisdictions I travel in. Where they do enforce their speed limits they also seem to generate tremendous amount of revenue for their communities as opposed to spending it on speed bumps that just provoke drivers to go even faster in between. Who at City Hall is good friends with the Concrete Contractors?
Burlington is becoming more and more of a joke with City Halls asinine ideas. I keep waiting to read that they’re going to build a monorail…like Springfield did on The Simpsons lol. You have created such traffic congestion everywhere. I suppose all the idling cars and their exhaust is the best solution.
The plastic bar is for the buses they can run over it without going over the speed bumps.
Truth
The yellow stand up bar in the middle of the so, called speed bumps is plastic and NOT metal. Don’t know how but cars hit it & it bounces back up. No, damages to car. Good thing it’s not metal.
It doesn’t “glow in the dark either. The only reason why it’s their is to alert snow removal trucks to lift their plow..
Bottlenecks on New St and at Spencer Smith Park force drivers to seek alternative routes. Bumps will slow traffic but won’t deter their use.
I like your idea Deedee. Take every street in Burlington that has more then five cars per hour (almost all of them) and put speed bumps everywhere. Think of the savings. 1) bulk order of speed bumps means lower cost. 2) One time installation cost done all at once resulting in cost savings, 3) Big savings in staff time not having to evaluate every request individually and 4) get an exemption from the proposed marijuana laws because everyone in Burlington will be so calm we won’t need the weed.
Oh I forgot #5). A great make work project for some contractor who every spring will go around and reinstall the speed bumps after the snow plows rip them up.
Why don’t we just put a speed hump on every darn street in the city and be done with it!
Hit brake, slow down, bump, speed up, hit brake, slow down, bump, speed up, hit brake, slow down, bump, speed up, hit brake, slow down bump, speed up, hit brake, slow down bump, speed up, hit brake, slow down bump, speed up… repeat ad naseum.
This sounds like a version of hell especially for anyone suffering back pain.
and this is what happens
Ambulance, firetrucks police vehicles can fly over the speed bumps. The speed bumps today do not ruin a vehicle.
The original speed bumps back in the day did.
I see cars jumping them on the time.
Not an ambulance transporting someone with a possible spinal cord injury or similar
Pot holes are more of a concern at a high speed than these speed bump.
Ambulance is heavy. Person would not feel a thing over these speed bumps. I am sure the paramedics know how to handle any situation when transportation patients. People’s ignorance in not moving or traffic concerning.
Vince Fiorito, the City striked down seniors using city transit for free every Monday a year ago.
I am aware of that. I also know Marianne Meed Ward was the sole city council member pushing this progressive idea. We need more people like her on city council.
Marianne Meed Ward for next Mayor #2018
A more affordable way to accomplish the same thing as “speed bumps” would be to allow the streets to develop “speed holes” naturally over time. Just stop doing road maintenance. “Speed holes” (aka potholes) will form all on their own. Eventually our city streets would become so crappy that no one could possibly drive more than 40km/h on them. If this idea sounds insanely stupid, then you probably understand why I hate speed bumps.
A better idea than speed bumps would be to punish speeders with fines to create a 50/50 lottery pool and reward people who obey the speed limit with tickets for the weekly 50/50 draw.
https://www.wired.com/2010/12/swedish-speed-camera-pays-drivers-to-slow-down/
Wonder how long the humps and bumps will last one the plow is out this winter
Those things are not speed bumps. Please!
I’d like to read and hear more from emergency services on the increasing use of speed bumps. Do these not inhibit ambulances trying to get patients in emergency situations to the hospital? These services have stopped the installation of speed bumps by other municipalities. It’s time to give this more thought here in Burlington.
well my auto shop is checking the covers in the base of my car that appear to hit some sped bumps at crawl speed. so how many lawsuits will be coming for damage to vehicles. –
I hate speed bumps and don’t think they are the best solution for speeding. Neither are stop signs.
The best solution is a speed radar sign that displays speed and flashes as a warning if speeding. If the driver speeds by, the speed radar captures an image of the license plate, which generates a well deserved excessive speed based fine.
Cars that pass by at or below the speed limit get a free lottery a ticket. (see link below) Make it revenue neutral so that speeders buy lottery tickets for law abiding citizens.
I hate hidden photo radars. The point is to reduce speed, not necessarily to generate revenue.
Why I hate speed bumps
1) Slows down emergency vehicles (police, fire, ambulance…)
2) Can cause pain or injury even at slow speeds (people suffering with back pain, ambulance moving someone with a spinal cord injury…)
3) Additional wear and tear… all that additional breaking adds up.
4) Reduced fuel efficiency, increased GHG emissions…
https://www.wired.com/2010/12/swedish-speed-camera-pays-drivers-to-slow-down/
Marianne Meed Ward how about some help with the constant school bus driver shortage? Has it occured to anybody that busses can reduce traffic? Myself and several parents I know on my daughters bus route have had to resort to driving the kids to and from school every day adding more vehicles to prospect unnecessarily. Our current bus service for students is UNSAFE and UNRELIABLE and this shortage has been going on for years.
In addition IF we are concerned for the safety of the students, effective enforcement more often at the schools themselves is REQUIRED. Illegal parking creating blindspots and driving through crosswalks are a daily occurrence if one is present and aware at the schools during drop off and pickup.
As far as the speedbumbs themselves go if speeding is identified as a concern then bring em on, I would think combined with enforcement as by themselves I don’t see them as very effective.
Yes, I have raised this very issue with out new director of transit, and will raise it this THursday during our transit workshop. We need to consider bringing back school specials, so kids can take public transit easily to school.
The issue regarding school busses has been raised for a few years now, what we really need would be solutions…
Unfortunately your idea regarding public transit feels a bit off the mark, are you aware that the school on prospect (Tom Thompson) is JK-grade 6? Have you plotted the public transit route from just about anywhere in Burlington to Tom Thompson and what age would you feel comfortable to put your children on a public transit route with transfers to other busses?
The school bus system is broken and needs to be fixed or scrapped, preferably the former.
Marianne is it not indicative of the problem that it is the drivers themselves that we are having trouble employing? I assume that you are aware of the resources we direct toward HDSB transportation and the bus companies themselves yet strangely we are never short of staff for any of those positions except the drivers.
Ian, Marianne’s idea of public transit is not really off the mark as the kids in Tyandaga used to be bused on Burlington Transit special route buses to Aldershot, then those vehicles would be used for regular routes and riders the rest of the day around school ride times. Drivers are already employed by the City, they are already well trained and paid, they are used to working split shifts, comfortable with student riders, etc etc. I absolutely agree with you that the Halton school bus system (HSTS) is broken and needs to be scrapped, at least in cities with an existing transit system, especially since the HSTS (Halton Student Trnsportation Services) is overseen by the Directors of both the Public and the Catholic Boards, and both the Board’s Business Managers. Makes one wonder about the small circle that busing resources are kept within. Those busing resources could be better applied in the rural areas where there are not existing transit systems and where the students really do need school buses.
Deborah is Aldershot not grade 7-12?
I am all for busses however putting grade ones on anything other than a dedicated route from a to b seems like a bad plan….
Quite frankly the company that runs the busses and the design of the busses is of little concern to me and I am fairly sure we are already paying someone to make those calls. As long as they are safe and reliable they would be more feasible. 🙂
Deborah Arbour-Ruse Agree Deborah. Ian, the idea could be to only put secondary students on the city special busses. This would still reduce the number of cars on the road that would help the elementary situation, as well as free up more bus drivers and school busses. I was one of those Aldershot students (a long time ago) and it essentially was exactly like a school bus as it went from our stop in Tyandaga straight to Aldershot in the morning and back again after school.
Ian Walker Agree public transit is age specific; my kids started in middle school – Gr 7-12 is appropriate. If school buses picking up high school kids could be redeployed to elementary, and middle/high schools on public transit we all benefit. BTW the city does not fund HDSB buses. Part of issue with HDSB drivers is pay, hours and terms; very different from Burlington Transit compensation and hours. Agree the elementary school bus system needs an overhaul.
Lynn Crosby Had the same thought; see comment below.
Ian Walker I missed that point, meant to say that!
“If school buses picking up high school kids could be redeployed to elementary, and middle/high schools on public transit we all benefit”
Sounds to me like a good idea as the current setup is an unsafe inefficient waste of money.
Marianne while HDSB busses are not funded by ‘the city of Burlington’ they are funded by taxes which are also paid by the people of Burlington and when the service fee continues while the service stops there will eventually be questions.
There is quite obviously, and has been for quite some time now, an issue that has arisen around the wages/hours/terms of school bus drivers employment, I for one would like to see the problem remedied.
Thank you for taking the time and sharing some alternatives, this issue has been on my mind and I am really not looking forward to adding yet another vehicle when it is so unnecessary.
Another alternative I have heard suggested is to find an uber setup that is more trustworthy than the current one however I have MANY questions about exactly how that would work too…. Uber school bus, although we could probably design a safer more reliable system at half the cost.
A solution to the school bus driver shortage would be to give all high school students free passes to use Burlington Public Transit. See what impact that has on School Bus ridership, and then adjust school bus routes accordingly. As Marianne Meed Ward pointed out this would free up resources to service elementary schools.
Public transit is a public service similar to roads, snow removal and storm sewers. All Burlington residents should have free bus passes, as part of our city’s effort to combat climate change, reduce carbon emissions and eliminate traffic congestion.
If not free passes for all Burlington residents, then at least seniors and students. Seniors need transportation to get to appointments. Students need transportation to school, part time jobs and volunteer cmmunity service. Hopefully once they are finished high school they will continue using public transit as adults.
Looking forward, disruptive change is here with ride sharing, self driving vehicles and other emerging technologies…
Ian Walker there should not be any school buses picking up high school kids. They should all be using public transport.
Deedee Davies I agree unless there is a good reason to do otherwise, such as they don’t have public transit or they have special needs.
Vince Fiorito I agree with your idea that all Burlington high school students should have free Burlington transit passes. The school board should be supporting this idea. From what I have seen about the HSTS (the Board transportation consortium), the administrative costs are extremely high. Promoting walking to school would be the biggest benefit of all: for the health of the students and the planet. In Burlington, a large number of secondary students could walk to school or take public transit.
Lynn Crosby Walking is by far the best transportation solution. Next is biking and then public transit.
Lynn Crosby bus passes don’t need to be free but they should be affordable.
Marianne Meed Ward
Some Burlington Transit drivers work more than 60 hours weekly, internal audit finds
https://www.insidehalton.com/news-story/7600911-some-burlington-transit-drivers-work-more-than-60-hours-weekly-internal-audit-finds/
I would have assumed you would already be aware of an issue with transit that is this serious. BT seems to be experiencing problems of its own…
Ian Walker
keeping city employees working. Next year they can take them .
Maybe if more tickets were handed out people might slow down
I know every time we have police presence in our area people do slow down. Speeding and not stopping at stop signs are a problem. The reality is that all Burlington communities are seeing more traffic due to volume and construction around town. Pretty much every main artery has some sort of construction and we all can agree the road diet and continuous road work on New street has increased the traffic in our neighbourhoods. Road work due to water mains is a must but restricting traffic flow for bike lanes is not the answer to our ever growing city.
Increase in population. Increase cars. Improve City transit is the key to a growing City. Bike Lanes are not the issue. Everyone drives.
Wow…I drove up Headen Rd a few times lately and despite the frequent stop signs now there is an abundance of speed bumps also….and often where folks are already slowing down for the stop signs. Honestly seems like a ridiculous expenditure of tax dollars turning us into a nanny state. Lowering the speed limit is fine in residential…..ticketing speeders is fine…..but this? Not.
And it doesn’t work! The bureaucrats & politicians who mouth the phrase “traffic calming” have no idea what they’re talking about–but it sounds good and looks good on paper. Since speed bumps were installed on Spruce near Tuck School (incidentally, this has little to do with student safety but a knee-jerk reaction to the Fiasco on New Street), speeding is worse than ever. Ever watch a driver approach a speed bump–yes he/she will slow for the bump and then accelerate to make up the lost time from the slowing–this is how it really doesn’t work!
On Sutton Drive, at entrance to Orchard Community Park and Emerson Park, there are speed tables with marked crosswalks in patterned concrete. I believe these are a superior solution when we need to enhance safety and encourage lower speed. They bring the road up to level of sidewalk, which makes it easy for people with disabilities and those with strollers. And they are not so sharp for motorists. I would recommend we use these, especially where there is an entry to a neighbourhood off an arterial road. It provides a reminder that you are now entering a neighbourhood and need to drive slower. May be more expensive but public safety is worth it.
Love the speed bumps on George but people still fly over them.
The current design for speed bumps (triangular in shape) cannot be driven over smoothly even at a very slow speed. I believe they could be made much smoother to ride over and still serve the purpose
All speed bump proposals are circulated to emergency fire/paramedic for review. Also, bumps are “split hump” emergency vehicles wheel axis large enough to drive over. No impediment to emergency vehicles.
Yes but often just on one side. If the narrow bump is on the wrong side they have to drive in the opposing lane to avoid it.
Also I noticed many of these speed bums are the width of the entire road and unavoidable.
Speed bumps are welcome news for Woodward, those against it most likely don’t live on the street and aren’t concerned with the speed or volume of traffic.
I live just off Woodward Don, and we have multiple speed bumps and “traffic calming measures” alllllll around us. And all they do is cause those already speeding to do in smaller bursts. RACING up to the bump, slamming on the brakes, and then ZOOMING along to the next one. To say we aren’t concerned about the speed or volume of traffic in our neighbourhood is simply not the case.
i’d be very concerned about slowing down emergency vehicles too!
i wouldn’t want to be the person in the back of an ambulance and my life depends on that ride going to joe brant and the ambulance has to slow down every 300m or so enroute.
I agree. I think more of these speedbumps is a terrible idea and not very realistic. Wouldn’t more enforcement be more cost effective, if not more effective overall? Certainly works on Queensway
Shari Lava Enforcement is also used.
Are there other proposals to increase enforcement? Because as someone who drives these routes often, I never see it. And are there other measures to improve traffic flow on the major routes? In my opinion, this is happening because of urban intensification. If the city takes away options for people, I’d like to see the other part that help the major arteries remain viable. People don’t look for alternates when things work for them.
Gary Richard P Thing is, if you have wide flat roads that encourage speed, you end up with many more collisions that require those emergency services.
and apparently having areas that narrow have a ‘calming’ affect with less frustrations than bumps.
Where might one find a copy of the traffic analysis that supports this proposal/decision? Would a link be available, or is it necessary to file a FOI request in person?
It’s all public information. Email for the data
Thx
Is there a way to STOP more of these from going in? Like a petition or … something? Or is this a done-deal like the ones on Deyncourt and George and Ghent? The City Transportation Department seemed to have already made up their mind in advance of the public meeting last time and weren’t receptive to my neighbours concerns. Our neighbourhood is drowning in these frigging things … help … no more speed bumps … no … more …
Staff take public input into account. Recognize that community is divided on these: some REALLY want; some REALLY hate. Public safety has to be the key consideration.
Marianne Meed Ward agreed 100%. Especially in areas where there are lil’ ones (like Prospect). Given the amount of time I spend driving along Prospect the cop car that parks at the school sure does wonders for slowing down traffic … would the city consider some cut-out or inflatable decoy cop cars? 😉
I agree Kim Lalonde. Due to the congestion on the other streets, Prospect and Woodward are often the only options to get home. There are speed bumps and traffic calming everywhere you go now.
I understand the need for them however they are big bumps and when I drive over them with my Mom in the car who has a bad back it gives her quite a jolt and I go slow over them. Making the main roads easier to travel would be a huge step I’m the right direction.
Right on Kim Lalonde! I totally agree!!!
Grew up in the middle of that area (Redfern). Prospect has been 40 kph for years and I’ve not seen a speeding issue there myself. Rarely use Woodward, but a stop sign at Peele would probably suffice, as most of the road east of Peele is not direct access (setback townhomes on the old mushroom farm land, high-rises or retirement homes). Only west of Peele does it become fully detached housing directly on the road.
A lot of the cut through traffic is a result of New Street road diet and co struction.i do it all the time.
Like on Spruce, eh??