Wilmot Township’s 2025 traffic calming report highlights data-driven approach to road safety

Galen Simmons, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Township of Wilmot’s 2025 traffic calming report, presented to council on Jan. 26, offers residents a detailed look at how local roads are performing, where concerns are being raised and how staff are responding using traffic data rather than assumptions.

Prepared by township infrastructure staff, the annual report summarizes all traffic studies and reviews conducted throughout 2025 and is intended to provide both transparency and accountability, according to Wilmot director of infrastructure services Ken VanderWal, who presented the report to council.

“Township staff present an annual traffic calming report to keep council and the public informed as to how our roads are operating,” VanderWal said. “The report also provides transparency on the locations of traffic calming concerns and the results of any investigations.”

In total, staff received 84 traffic-related requests last year, including 70 submissions through the township’s online portal covering 20 locations, along with 14 additional requests through other forms of communication. The most common concerns involved speeding, cut-through traffic, parking restrictions and intersection safety.

To respond, staff conducted 39 traffic-data collections using radar-based monitoring devices to measure vehicle speed, volume and movement. The data was then assessed against the township’s traffic calming policy, approved by council in 2024.

One key point emphasized during the council discussion was the distinction between the annual traffic calming report and the policy itself. While the policy sets specific thresholds — including minimum traffic volumes and roadway characteristics — staff explained those thresholds do not prevent investigations outside the policy framework.

“Some of the tools in the traffic calming policy have limitations,” VanderWal said. “While the policy does have a traffic-volume threshold, staff still investigate traffic speeds and volumes on areas that don’t meet that threshold to determine if actions are warranted outside of the policy.”

Those actions can include increased enforcement by the Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS) through its Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP). In 2025, WRPS dedicated 58 hours of targeted enforcement on township roads, resulting in charges related to speeding, impaired driving, failure to stop and other offences. Additional enforcement hours were also spent on regional roads within Wilmot.

The report also confirmed there are currently no locations in Wilmot that warrant permanent speed cushions. VanderWal clarified this conclusion is not related to cost, but rather to measured driving behaviour.

“Permanent speed cushions are not needed because speeds are generally within the anticipated range,” he said.

Temporary speed cushions were used on Mannheim Road during 2025 due to detour-related traffic increases tied to nearby regional construction. Once traffic volumes returned to normal, the temporary measures were removed.

Beyond speed management, the report includes collision data, signage reviews, intersection studies and future recommendations, including an all-way stop being brought forward for council consideration in early 2026 at the intersection of Puddicombe Road and Bridge Street following a sharp increase in collisions.

The report underscores a data-driven, case-by-case approach to traffic safety — one that balances resident concerns with engineering standards, enforcement tools and long-term planning.

The full 2025 Traffic Calming Report was published as part of the Jan. 26, 2026, council meeting agenda, which is available electronically on the Township of Wilmot website.