Oxford County installing more traffic calming measures

Oxford County is creating eight new Community Safety Zones across the region. The measure results in increased fines for traffic offenders. (Oxford County Photo)

Lee Griffi, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Oxford County is installing eight new Community Safety Zones this year.

The location of the zones was decided through an eligibility and evaluation process in consultation with area municipalities and implemented in five municipalities across the county, including two in Woodstock and Ingersoll and one in Embro.

The number of safety zones has exponentially increased over the last few years, moves coinciding with increased traffic on many county roads. Frank Gross is the county’s manager of transportation explained there aren’t many areas left where they could be implemented.

“I would say as far as county roads go, I would say yes. We have addressed the areas where there are parks and schools, but some other areas may still be warranted based on pedestrian volumes.”

Gross added the county has a specific criteria to implement a Community Safety Zone, one that isn’t driven by the province.

“It is based on what criteria other municipalities are using. It’s a two-stage process and the first warrant is where there might be a school, recreation area, community centre, seniors home, hospital or high-pedestrian volumes.”

He added if an area meets one or more of these points, the second warrant kicks in. It looks at the factors surrounding road safety.

“We use a scoring matrix that looks at operating speeds, traffic volumes, sidewalks, percentage of trucks, the volume of pedestrians and the number of intersections. Then we give it a score and if it meets the minimum threshold, we recommend it. Ultimately, it’s county council’s decision.”

Gross explained the county hasn’t yet dug into the data to see if the current zones are making a difference when it comes to safety, speed and other factors, but he said unofficially the feedback has been positive.

“I know in talking to police they are working. Police have conducted patrols in the areas and are imposing increased fines for speeding.”

Community Safety Zones are marked by road signage and allow for increased speeding fines and are also eligible for the future application of photo radar.

“We are going to look at a potential automated speed enforcement (ASE) program in the county. These zones are eligible for photo radar under provincial regulations and more and more municipalities have implemented them,” added Gross.

County staff will be presenting a report to council before next year’s budget deliberations before any decision is made on implementing an ASE program. The Town of Caledon installed two such systems in 2023 at a cost of $641,000 which included a full-time staff member. According to a staff report, the program was likely to generate a total estimated fine revenue of $400,000, bringing the net cost down to $241,000.

“We don’t have a price we could reliably share at this point: the cost of an ASE camera would be a lease cost, not a direct purchase, and would depend on pricing received through a competitive tender and how the tender was structured,” explained Gross.

According to the province, the fines for drivers vary depending on the infraction. One to 19 km over the limit will cost $5 per km. 20 to 20 km over is $7.50 for each km, and 30 to 49 km over results in a fine of $12 per km. Each fine comes with an additional “cost” charge.

Here is a list of the other Community Safety Zones coming to Oxford County:

• Ingersoll: Oxford Road 10 (Ingersoll Street North) from Bell Street to Victoria Street and Oxford Road 119 (Bell Street) from Ingersoll Street North to Cashel Street

• Woodstock: Oxford Road 15 (Parkinson Road) from Mill Street to Norwich Avenue, and Oxford Road 35 (Devonshire Avenue) from Vansittart Avenue to Huron Street

• Tavistock: Oxford Road 24 (Hope Street West) from Woodstock Street to the 50 km/h limit West, and Hope Street East from Woodstock Street to the 50 km/h limit East

• Norwich: Oxford Road 18 (Main Street West) from Florence Street to Stover Street

• Embro: Oxford Road 6 (Huron Street) from John Street to Halladay Street

The Community Safety Zones in Ingersoll, Tavistock, Norwich, Embro, and Oxford Road 15 (Parkinson Road) in Woodstock will be installed this month.

The zone at Oxford Road 35 (Devonshire Avenue) will be implemented once construction is completed later this year.

The county completed a review in 2022 of potential sites and implemented the first 20 in the fall of 2023. At a council meeting in February of last year, nine additional zones were approved, bringing the total to 29.