Motion to lower speed limit along Myers Road to be presented

It's an issue that Ward 7 councillor Scott Hamilton said he's heard a lot about over the course of his 15 months as a councillor in the city.

The road is considered a regional road which makes it the responsibility of regional council to consider decreasing the speed limit from 50 km/h to 40 km/h. 

That didn't stop Hamilton from trying to figure out a way to have a motion presented to regional council.

Through the support of all three Cambridge regional councillors, Kathryn McGarry will present the motion at a meeting on Jan. 26 to try and help the residents in the neighbourhood who brought the concerns forward. 

“Basically saying let's drop the speed limit on this road from 50 to 40, which is what the majority of schools are in the region, and let's also look at every single school in the region and if that speed isn't 40, well why not and should we be lowering it?” 

There are two schools along this stretch of road. Moffat Creek Public School and Holy Cross Catholic Elementary School. Both of the schools don't have a crosswalk, there's no additional parking for parents picking up students and the road is just too fast. 

“Right now, I'm really relieved that Kathryn McGarry said 'maybe we should lower the speed limit on this road.' Even though it's not a magic silver bullet solution, it's not going to cure every issue of the road and magically make it 100 per cent safe, it is still a small step.” 

Hamilton said although it can be difficult to navigate these issues because of two-tiered government he recognizes that the region is listening and hopes this motion passes. 

“It's a piece in an over-arching larger puzzle,” he said, “it will make a difference. Even though when you lower a speed limit, you may not reach 100 per cent of the drivers on the road but you reach a lot and that makes a big impact if a child is crossing the road and people are driving ten kilometres slower than they otherwise would have been, if you can prevent injury and you might even save a life.” 

Last September, a young boy was struck along that stretch of road by the driver of a truck while he was crossing the road and Hamilton said that has left parents concerned that it could happen again.