TRAFFIC CORNER – NEW FEATURE!
Welcome to the Southwood Connects “Traffic Corner”. This is a new monthly feature that will highlight news, views and information and all things traffic in our community.Earlier this year, the traffic committee collected nearly 100 signatures (only 25 required) on the City of Calgary Traffic Issues Reporting form. This form highlighted the traffic concerns of Southwood residents that were gathered from the Special Meeting of Oct 2010 and from the survey conducted in January 2010. The form was signed in April by the Director of Traffic, Southwood Police Liason Officer, Board President and Alderman Diane Colley-Urquhart. This form has since been forwarded to the City Traffic and Roads Department for review.
At the same time, 42 homes were surveyed near and along Sacramento Drive where there has been increasing concern about motorists speeding through the playground zone. Briefly here are the results:
- 95% OF ALL SURVEYED EITHER STRONGLY OR SOMEWHAT AGREE THAT SPEEDING IS AN ISSUE IN THE COMMUNITY
- 93% WOULD STRONGLY OR SOMEWHAT AGREE TO SUPPORT AN INCREASE TO POLICE ENFORCEMENT OF SPEEDING IN MY COMMUNITY
- 88% WOULD STRONGLY OR SOMEWHAT AGREE TO SUPPORT THE ADDITION OF NEWTRAFFIC CONTROLS SUCH AS NEW STOP SIGNS, EXTENDED PLAYGROUND ZONES OR CHANGES TO SPEED LIMITS WHERE NECESSARY TO HELP REDUCE SPEEDING IN MY COMMUNITY
- 81% OF ALL SURVEYED WOULD STRONGLY OR SOMEWHAT AGREE TO SUPPORT A CAMPAIGN TO EDUCATE DRIVERS OF THE PENALTIES AND DANGERS ASSOCIATED WITH SPEEDING IN MY COMMUNITY
- 64% STRONGLY OR SOMEWHAT AGREE THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH VEHICLES USING COLLECTOR STREETS TO CUT THROUGH MY COMMUNITY
- 50 % WOULD STRONGLY OR SOMEWHAT AGREE TO SUPPORT THE ADDITION OF NEWTRAFFIC CALMING MEASURES SUCH AS SPEED BUMPS OR EXTENDED CURBS WHERE NECESSARY TO HELP REDUCE SPEEDING IN MY COMMUNITY
- 48% WOULD STRONGLY OR SOMEWHAT AGREE TO SUPPORT AN INCREASE TO THE SIZE AND OR ENFORCEMENT OF PERMIT PARKING ZONES IN MY COMMUNITY
Future editions of Traffic Corner will aim to address the 4 mandates of the Traffic Committee:
- Awareness – Identify traffic problems and communicate them to the community. There is clearly strong support to see a reduction in speeding along Sacramento Drive and this will be our priority.
- Education – Advise residents and drivers of what impact speeding has on community, pedestrians and safety. The committee will work to undertake an education campaign in coming months with partners from the City and Alberta Motor Association.
- Enforcement – Work with Police Services to establish, monitor and report regularly on the speeding violations within the community.
- Engineering – Work with partners in Roads, Traffic and Engineering to determine the most appropriate traffic solutions that will reduce speeding in the community.
If you have any traffic related issues you would like the board to report on or you would like to get involved in committee activities please drop me a line – we want to hear from you!
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To get involved or to bring forward your traffic related concerns please
contact one of the committee members in your area.
East Southwood:
Darren Oxbury <dreamrider33@hotmail.com>,
Tracy Chalifoux<tchalifoux@shaw.ca>,
Tim Derkitt <tderkitt@gmail.com>
West Southwood:
Peter McKenzie <slybaby@shaw.ca>
North Southwood: Currently vacant
Useful Links
To report traffic concerns to calgary police: http://www.calgarypolice.ca/sections-traffic-service-form.html
