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Councillor hopes signs curb dangerous driving in Oro-Medonte

Coun. Shawn Scott placing 'Please slow down' signs in areas where speeding and aggressive driving are prevalent
2020-06-04 Shawn Scott slow down sign
Oro-Medonte Coun. Shawn Scott is shown with one of the signs he has been placing in Ward 4 to encourage drivers to slow down. Supplied photo

Many drivers have a lead foot as the warmer weather arrives, and an Oro-Medonte councillor is taking action to slow them down.

Coun. Shawn Scott has been placing “Please slow down” signs in areas of Ward 4, which he represents, in response to concerns from residents, particularly in the Oro Station area and along the lakeshore.

“I received a tremendous number of complaints from different areas in Ward 4. All the complaints were centred around speeding or excessively aggressive driving,” he said.

Scott went to see for himself and noted the residents’ concerns were valid.

He has been working with Orillia OPP to address the issue, and while there has been an increase in police presence in the area, he wanted to see something done in addition to targeted enforcement.

Sometimes a simple sign can make a difference. Seeing the sign could prompt drivers to look at the speedometer.

“If that helps to educate people to curb their behaviour, that’s a win,” he said. “The majority of drivers are responsible and they don’t want to get caught speeding.”

He had the signs made in the fall and started placing them in his ward in April.

“The feedback from residents has been extremely positive,” he said. "People are noticing there is a change in how people are driving."

Ward 3 Coun. Cathy Keane liked the idea and is in the process of getting signs out in areas she represents.

While most of the signs are in residential areas, some are along roads that are popular with cyclists.

There have been no major incidents, as far as Scott is aware, but the former police officer was not willing to wait until something happened before taking steps to curb dangerous driving habits.

“I attended tragic scenes over my 33 years. I’ve made notifications in the middle of the night,” he said. “Slow down. Nothing is that important that you have to cause a community member potential harm.”


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Nathan Taylor

About the Author: Nathan Taylor

Nathan Taylor is the desk editor for Village Media's central Ontario news desk in Simcoe County and Newmarket.
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