Traffic calming in Beaconsfield

Education and heightened police presence are the tools needed to solve speeding problems in Beaconsfield, said District 1 councellor and chair of the city’s traffic committee, Jim Hasegawa, last week.

Hasegawa met with residents of the Beacon Hill area last Tuesday to discuss traffic calming measures that will be implemented to reduce speeding and – the biggest problem – stop sign running.

“The main problem is the human factor. It’s the drivers themselves who are the culprits. The interesting thing is, the culprits live in the area,” Hasegawa said, adding Beacon Hill is not a through-area to any major arteries. “The bottom line was, how do we educate the people? There are two ways: through dollars signs – give them a big, hefty fine. The other way is if one of their own kids (gets in an accident), and then they wake up.”

While Hasegawa believes more police presence would remedy the problem, it is difficult to get, because of “personnel shortages.” Beaconsfield Public Security cannot fine speeders or motorists running stop signs either, because they are only allowed to hand out fines for non-moving violations, like parking tickets, Hasegawa explained.

The in-house study presented at the June 3 meeting suggested a number of traffic calming measures for the area: speeds hump between 138 and 152 Creswell Dr., at 173 and at 184 Beacon Hill, and another at 169 Alton Dr. The report also recommended a speed hump for Amherst Road between Rutland and Alton Drive. On-street parking there, as well as the area on Alton Drive between Amherst and Elm Avenue, should be redefined, the report read.

The intersection at Creswell and Berwick will also be raised to stop motorists from speeding in order to make the traffic light on St. Charles Boulevard, Hasegawa said.

Beaconsfield will also remove stop signs at the Creswell/Berwick intersection, and at the Beacon Hill/Andover intersection, because they do not comply with Quebec’s Highway Safety Code.

According to Hasegawa, the extra stop signs cause more confusion than they do good.

“People coming down don’t realize they have a stop sign, so they just go through,” he said.

Beacon Hill Elementary principal Grant Thomas said the traffic suggested calming measures could be helpful in the area.

“I think speeding at certain periods of time – when people are rushing to work, or to pick up or drop off their kids – is always a problem,” he said, adding sidewalks the city recently installed around the school allow children to stay off the road, making the area safer for them.

As for what motorists can do to make streets and school zones safer, Thomas said it’s all about being vigilant behind the wheel.

“Obey the speed limit. Obey all the traffic signs – stop signs, no parking sign, no U-turn signs – Just drive very cautiously, because children are children,” Thomas said, reminding people to always stop when school buses have their lights flashing and their stop signs out.

Although the price tag for the Beacon Hill-area traffic calming project has not yet been determined, Hasegawa said he hopes to have all the recommended traffic calming measures in place by September, in time for back-to-school.