Reducing the speed limit to 30 kilometres an hour on Barrie’s Lakeshore Drive, between Simcoe and Tiffin streets, will be investigated by city staff.
City council gave final approval to the probe Monday night without any discussion.
Coun. Keenan Aylwin’s motion to actually reduce Lakeshore Drive’s speed limit to 30 km/h — or 20 km/h slower than the current 50 km/h speed limit — was long discussed but never voted upon at the June 7 meeting.
A staff investigation, followed by a report back to councillors, was all they could agree upon.
Aylwin, who represents this part of Barrie, has said he’s received complaints about speeders, safety and noise on this section of Lakeshore Drive since being elected in 2018.
Allandale resident Cathy Colebatch asked for a pilot project to document speed and noise all the way to Minet’s Point Road during her deputation to council Monday night.
“Anyone that lives around the bay can hear what is happening along the lakeshore. Noise echoes across the bay,” she said. “In Ward 8, we can hear the music at Meridian Place during the summer festivals, including the speeding and noisy vehicles.
“Our beachfront is becoming increasingly popular, almost overcrowded much of the time,” Colebatch added. “During our busy spring, summer (and) fall season, traffic almost self-regulates because of the volumes during the daytime hours.
“However, after folks leave the beach area, at around 6 p.m. onward, until after bar closing, speed and noise are an issue for residents, especially the illegal cars and motorcycles’” she said. “Regular enforcement is a must.”
Mayor Jeff Lehman has said he will raise the matter of speeding and noise on Lakeshore Drive at this month’s Barrie Police Services Board meeting June 17.
