WAVERLEY: A simple tweet from a local Waverley resident has led to the purchase of three speed signs for the Waverley Community Association (WCA) aimed at bringing a form of traffic calming to the roadways in Waverley and Fall River.
After seeing the tweet, Steve Sinnott, a volunteer with the WCA, took the opportunity to push the need for speed reduction on streets in the community with councillor Steve Streatch.
Some residents have dubbed Rocky Lake Drive, Waverley Road, Fall River Road, and Cobequid Road as speedways with the amount of vehicles they see daily going faster than the posted speed limits, worrying that change would only come if someone got seriously hurt or killed.
“This has been an issue for us for the last number of years,” said Sinnott. “We’ve been advocating in trying to get these speed signs in as we know speeding is an issue in the community.
“When we happened to see some information come out in the tweet from resident Alison MacEachern, I jumped on this to take it to the next level, to take it to where we needed to go with it.”
Sinnott said he began talks with Streatch and that formed the partnership between the WCA and the councillor on the new project. Streatch purchased the three signs using his councillors district fund, although no price tag was given.
“It’s a great news story that we’re able to purchase three of these and bring them into the community,” said Sinnott. “It’s not just for Waverley, it’s for everybody. We’re going to investigate going into Wellington, Fall River, down the Dartmouth end of Waverley Road.
“We want to slow people down and make them aware of the speeds they’re actually going.”
A unique aspect of this is how it ‘s being handled. It is all being done through the Halifax Traffic Authority, who is governing it. They will be consulting with the WCA. They will also be maintaining the signs.
When asked what assurances does the WCA have that the signs will indeed be in these communities here, and not used in other communities by the Traffic Authority, Sinnott said there is a verbal agreement with Streatch that they are for Waverley/Fall River.
“This is an area that needs help. They (the traffic authority) knows we need help,” said Streatch, agreeing with Sinnott.
Streatch agreed there was a need for some form of action as the number of emails he has received regarding speeding from this area continues to pile up.
“Over the last number of months especially, speeding, stunting, and traffic issues have risen to the top of the list of issues here,” said Streatch. “We have had concerned citizens inquire about ways to clam the traffic.”
He said the signs will be installed later this fall and can be moved around to areas the WCA hears concerns about, in conjunction with the Traffic Authority.
“We have to remember those who are speeding are often times our neighbours, people who just lose track and need to be reminded of the speed their going,” he said.
Streatch said there is a module that can be attached to provide data to Traffic Services and the police if they need to go to that extent.
Sinnott said the WCA will be staying on top of this.
“If for some reason, the traffic authority isn’t consulting with us, we’re going to have a different conversation,” he said. “This is important for our community. This is a big thing for not just Waverley, but also Wellington, Fall River.
“We want to know the hot spot areas, and we will work with the traffic authority to put these in those areas.”
