Written By David Gomez, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
KERWOOD - Councillors reviewed a resident’s request to designate part of Kerwood Road as a Community Safety Zone and to implement Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) during their August 11 meeting.
The proposal, submitted by Kerwood resident Carlos Trindade, highlights concerns about persistent speeding through the village’s core, where family homes and the public park sit directly along the roadway. In his remarks to council, Trindade noted the behaviour of drivers around the railway crossing. “Drivers tend to slow down at the train tracks. So, it goes from a 90 to a 50, but soon as they pass the train tracks, they accelerate again through town,” he explained. He added that vehicles, including commercial trucks, often accelerate through the residential section before slowing down again.
Councillor Betty Ann MacKinnon expressed her support for the initiative. Council then turned to staff for clarification on existing traffic measures and the implications of ASE.
Public Works Manager Coulter Cahill explained that the township already has traffic-calming signs in place. “Previous council did allocate funds towards the purchase of those signs. And in fact, Mayor Clarke, she went out and got some, a couple, one insurance company to donate funds for one sign. And I know council was felt pretty strong about doing something in some of these built-up communities in our municipality,” he said. The signs collect data and share it with the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), though Cahill acknowledged that one of the units had previously required repairs.
CAO Morgan Calvert added that the data confirms higher-than-posted speeds. “One [sign] is currently on Kerwood Road, capturing southbound traffic into the village. We do find that the data is suggesting, within that sample period anyway, that we are seeing higher than the posted speed limit in that section,” he said. He described ASE as a camera system that issues tickets automatically to vehicles exceeding the limit, noting that the tickets are tied to the vehicle rather than the driver.
Mayor Sue Clarke pointed out that enforcement remains a challenge despite the data. “Even though we collect that data and it’s given to the OPP, I can tell you from my Middlesex County Police Service Board meetings, they are under resourced right now. So, that is a challenge, and I’m not sure when it’s going to get better,” she said.
Council also discussed jurisdictional issues. As Kerwood Road is a county road, any enforcement program would require Middlesex County’s involvement. Calvert explained that he had spoken with County Engineer Chris Traini, who was prepared to respond to inquiries from local councils. “If this was something that Adelaide Metcalfe Council found appropriate to essentially pass a resolution asking the county engineer to take a look at it and provide information back to council for a future decision,” he said.
Councillor Garett Kingma sought clarification on the requirements for a Community Safety Zone, asking if it must be at least one kilometre in length. Calvert responded that it could be “as large or as small as council deems necessary, on a road.”
After discussion, council passed a resolution to refer the proposal to Middlesex County. The motion, moved by councillor MacKinnon and seconded by councillor Kingma, requests that the County engineer provide information on the potential designation of a Community Safety Zone on Kerwood Road and outline the framework for implementing ASE.
The matter now rests with Middlesex County for further consideration.
