Editor: I was heartened to read in The Times (Nov. 4) that Township council will begin implementing more traffic calming measures where necessary.

I (and other members of our neighbourhood) have reached out to council over the past three and one-half years for help with the traffic issues in our neighbourhood. As residents of the 7300 block of 201 Street, and the parents of two small children — ages six and four — we continue to be gravely concerned over the speed of drivers on our street.

The street is a house-lined, family neighbourhood close to R.C. Garnett Elementary, yet it has become a major thoroughfare. We have tried to manage the situation the best we can; however, things are not improving.

This summer, while our children were out on the sidewalk on a sunny day, we placed an ICBC-provided sign that reads “Slow please, children playing” on the road, well out of traffic’s way. A driver actually stopped her speeding car, picked the sign up and threw it on the lawn. It is clear that a more official endorsement of traffic safety is required.

While we have heard in the past that 201 Street is zoned as a feeder route and therefore ineligible for traffic cfalming, I maintain that regulations are regularly upgraded as safety needs arise.

According to Safe Kids Canada, a child hit by a car traveling at 50 km/h has an 80 per cent chance of being killed. Yet a child hit by a car traveling at 30 km/h has up to a 95 per cent chance of surviving. The speed limit on 201 Street — a street with over 30 children in one block — is 50 km/hour. Does that seem like a policy that can be defended in good conscience?

Finally, according to the news article, the possibility of a resident-pay system is viable. We have maintained from the beginning that we would be willing to contribute to the Township's infrastructure to keep our children safe. As such, I have sourced the cost of commercial grade speed humps (that slow traffic down to 30 km/h) that would be easily, and relatively inexpensively installed. You can find examples at the following web site:

http://www.tlctrafficsafety.com/gnr/humps.aspx

We will not rest until the issue of speed and safety on our street is addressed.

Lorraine Baldwin,

Willoughby