Speedsters who dare consider putting the pedal to the metal in an alley behind Drader Crescent may find themselves wishing they hadn’t.
At its regular meeting Nov. 29, council agreed to have one or two speed humps installed in the alley, put signage at the end of the alley stating the speed is 20 km/h and ask the RCMP to increase patrols in the area.
Last month council agreed to postpone making a decision regarding the alley until public input was received.
Coun. Gayle Rondeel, who made a motion for council to consider speed humps, sees this as a good solution.
“A speed hump is a gradual rise in the road as opposed to speed bumps that are a sharp rise. The design would determine how much you want to slow or curb traffic,” she said.
Coun. Scott Ellis spoke to the residents from about 20 homes on Drader Crescent regarding the issue.
He said residents in the seven homes closest to the alley were opposed to restricting access and of the dozen homes off the alley, half were indifferent or sympathetic and the other half were opposed.
In a letter, Christine Ellis (Scott Ellis’s wife) stated her opposition to closing the alley.
“I live on Drader Crescent and work as a physician in town. I frequently use this access when I am called to the emergency department or going to deliver a baby. Often when I use this roadway, time is of the essence so it is not purely a matter of convenience.”
Jim and Vera Wilson, who also live on Drader Crescent, said restricting access to the alley may solve one problem but it will create another problem on their street.
“Agreed this may slow down some of the traffic there, but our concern is that it will increase traffic on our street which at times is bad enough,” the couple said in a letter.
The speed humps will be installed in the spring.