By Lee Griffi, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
A pair of Shakespeare residents have started a petition in the hopes of Highway 7 and 8 through the town being designated as a Community Safety Zone (CSZ).
The process to get to that point is, however, a tad confusing.
Community safety zones are specific sections of the road where public safety is a top priority. They are designated areas recognized under provincial legislation and marked with community safety zone signs. Albert Arnott first started a push for a community safety zone in 2022 but, due to personal reasons, had to take a break. He said the time is right now to make a push.
“One day this summer, I was sitting out front of my house and I thought because of the construction at Punkeydoodles Corners, I’m going to deal with this. I drafted this petition and it is in four different spots in the village,” Arnott said.
The petition can be found at the Shakespeare Brewing Company, Shakespeare Pizza, Adams Building Supply and The Best Little Pork Shoppe.
Arnott provided the Gazette with traffic-study data from the province from 2021 and said he’s concerned first and foremost about the speed of vehicles coming through Shakespeare.
“As you can see, 85 per cent of the people were speeding at that point so here we are three years later and the amount of traffic has increased. Hit people where it counts, in the pocketbook.”
Fines are doubled for drivers breaking Highway Traffic Act rules in Community Safety Zones. Arnott moved to Shakespeare in 2020 from Peterborough but feels a need to get involved here.
“I care about my community. I get involved and I am a member of a couple organizations in the area. I would like to try and get 100 signatures and I think we are half way there.”
Ayden Gautreau owns the Shakespeare Brewing Company and is a volunteer firefighter in the village. He said people are simply driving to fast.
“We are probably a few hundred metres where people should be going 50 km/hr but the trucks will be right in front of here and hitting their Jake Brakes and making all kinds of noise which isn’t that big of a deal. You can tell they are applying their breaks here when they see a traffic light when they were supposed to apply the breaks prior to entering town.”
He added many vehicles are also in a hurry to leave town after the stoplight changes from red to green.
“You can here them leaving town shifting through their gears and the engines are loud so it’s obvious they are going over 50,” Gautreau said.
When it comes to enforcement by the Perth County OPP, Gautreau said police occasionally use the fire station next door to the brewery and park cruisers in plain site.
“More enforcement would be good to get people to start realizing this is a 50 zone. I think some people don’t realize how fast they are going. New cars are very quiet and powerful and when they are enclosed, they don’t realize they are flying.”
There is some confusion on the process involved in implementing a Community Safety Zone on a provincial highway, so the Gazette reached out to Perth-Wellington MPP Matthew Rae for clarification. He explained it needs to start at the municipal level.
“I know there is a petition going around and safety is very important especially as Shakespeare and other communities are growing. It is through the Highway Traffic Act and the solicitor general is responsible so that office will do their due diligence when they receive those requests from across the province.”
Rae added the first step is for the municipality to decide if they want to do that and then the solicitor general and ministry of transportation will work together to move it forward.
“The way the act is currently set up, the municipality needs to initiate that first then the province becomes involved. We obviously want to make sure our roads our safe especially in our growing communities and I know Shakespeare is very busy with a provincial highway going through. Always happy to work with my municipal partners,” Rae said.
Perth East council forwarded Arnott’s concerns to then MPP Randy Pettapiece back in 2022 regarding a potential Community Safety Zone, but it isn’t clear what, if anything, was done at the provincial level.
Current Perth East Coun. Bob McMillian was not aware of the petition but said traffic has become a huge issue everywhere, not just through Shakespeare.
“You are starting to see more of these speed signs pop up everywhere you go. There is more traffic and it goes faster. People have to get to work. It certainly is a problem we are all familiar with. As far as Shakespeare is concerned, I would have to understand the ins and outs of the stretch of highway they are referring to.”
Adding to the safety concern is children making their way across the main intersection without a crossing guard. McMillan said he would consider supporting a Community Safety Zone.
“It would do a couple of things. Raise awareness of what the actual speed limit is and try to slow people down. We have other areas where we have schools and a 40 km/hr zone. Most people probably are still driving 50 or 55 but it probably has slowed them down. I see some merit if this petition moves forward.”
Perth East has also just released word regarding a new all-way stop coming to the intersection of Perth Road 107 and Perth Line 33 sometime in late November. The township is advising road users to keep an eye out for new signage.
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