An Oro-Medonte resident is frustrated with a decision to turn part of Line 15 into a one-way roadway at Bass Lake Side Road.
The narrow section of road runs by a popular beach located immediately off its shoulder. Officials say "over-utilization" of the road has led to the township recently installing chicanes, flex stakes, and radar signs for a limited period as part of a one-year pilot project aimed at improving safety in the area.
While northbound access to the road is prohibited under the new measures, residents living along Line 15 are still permitted to travel north.
Oro-Medonte resident Leslie Ellins has a number of concerns with the new measures.
With northbound access to Line 15 closed, she worries area traffic will be directed by Notre Dame Catholic School, which is located at the intersection of Bass Lake Side Road and Atlantis Drive.
“It's sending all the traffic that they didn't want going by people on the beach … over by a school,” said a frustrated Ellins. “It’s like they just kicked the can down the road. Essentially, ‘We don't want this traffic on our roads, so we're gonna shuffle it over to somebody else and let them deal with it.’”
Ellins also worries about visitors, particularly those with large trailers trying to access Bass Lake Provincial Park, being unable to navigate the road due to the “slalom” conditions created by the chicanes.
“Bass Lake Provincial Park has signs on Highway 12 at the 15th line saying turn left here if you're coming from town, or turn right here if you're coming from Midland, to go to Bass Lake Provincial Park,” she explained. “There’s nothing that says it's a constricted area and be careful. You get in there with your great big fifth wheel (and) you're towing a boat or whatever – you can't get through there. You're stuck.”
Ellins also said the only other option to travel north is to turn left on Bass Lake Side Road and head to Line 11, which she said is a “considerable detour.”
She said she has witnessed numerous vehicles entering the road northbound, despite the measures.
While opposed to the current measures, Ellins was in favour of previous traffic-calming measures along the road, which included speed cushions, narrowed lanes, and dynamic radar signage.
Oro-Medonte Mayor Harry Hughes, however, said the previous measures were not enough to ensure safety along the stretch of road.
“Along that road there's a beach and a lot of kids and people are there. The road is not a normal width, so what we're getting is 5,000 cars a day on that road,” Hughes said.
“That road cannot handle that amount of traffic. We have tried speed bumps, we've tried all kinds of things and when it comes right down to it, when we put the speed bumps out, people actually went around the speed bumps into the sand on the beach," he said.
Hughes conceded increased police presence will be needed in the area to ensure compliance, but said the township has black cat traffic monitors installed in the area to gather data on traffic volumes and speed.
People travelling from Orillia can access the township “almost as fast” by taking Highway 11, Hughes said, adding travelling by the elementary school is a “choice.”
Hughes said the township is afraid of a fatality occurring, and the decision was made following public consultation, including virtual meetings, comment periods, and communications sent to Line 15 residents and members of the Bass Lake Ratepayers Association.
“We are afraid of a fatality, so what's happened is we've had numerous meetings with the community saying, ‘How can we solve this?’"
Ellins, however, does not feel the township went far enough in its public consultation efforts, and said communications were limited to residents in the immediate Line 15 area.
“They said they were going to consult the public and we were going to make the community aware, but there's been nothing to tell the community about it, to consult with the public. There's nothing. The people who travelled the road weren't given any notice that this was going to happen.”
She also pointed out that, among the comments received by the township, a majority were against the directional change. A May 11, 2022 staff report noted that only six of 32 respondents were in favour of the changes.
