Chelsea Osborne has dodged more than a few cars in her days walking to work at the Angus Tim Hortons on Mill Street.
Osborne said the busy intersection where County Road 90 traffic must slow down to 50 km/h on Mill Street in front of the busy coffee shop can be hazardous to her health.
“Pedestrians — myself included — some people are just not paying attention. They’re just going too fast,” she said.
The township plans to install red-light cameras in Angus’ community safety zones.
“It’s No. 1 of our top concerns,” Essa Township chief administrative officer Colleen Healey-Dowdall said. “Our councillors are bombarded with calls of speeding.”
However, the cost of developing photo radar software is prohibitive for a small municipality like Essa, she said.
After five years of deliberating how to quell the dangerous traffic on several of its high-traffic roads in Baxter, Thornton and Angus, Essa’s traffic advisory committee has asked Simcoe County for an assist, specifically in the Mill Street area.
“The county has stated they are supportive; however, it is a very timely process to apply and be granted approval through the province,” said Krista Pascoe, deputy clerk and accessibility co-ordinator for the township.
Pascoe added staff are currently collecting speed data throughout the entire municipality in order to determine which traffic-calming measures will be best utilized in which areas.
“We get complaints on all our roads, to tell you the truth,” said Coun. Ron Henderson. “It’s not just Mill Street being considered for chronic speeders.”
Centre Street leads into several new subdivisions along the 5th Line and is also a haven for speeders, he said. Henderson agrees with Osborne that the 50 km/h speed limit beginning at the Nottawasaga bridge near the No Frills store and Tim Hortons often catches people off-guard.
Osborne said photo radar would be a definite improvement.
“They (drivers) won’t be doing 60, 70 or 80 km/h around the corner and slamming on the brakes when they see me,” she said.
Cheryl Browne, Local Journalism Initiative, Barrie Advance
