Residents living in Gloucester South say speeding has become a chronic problem on one particular street in the area, resulting in multiple collisions.
Neighbours who live on Rideau Road between Bowesville Rd. and Limebank Rd. say drivers are going well above the posted 60 km per hour.
“It’s a 60 zone and we’ve seen people doing mid hundreds,” said Carlos Camarena, who lives along the road.
Along this portion of Rideau Rd. there is an “S” type curve. In This area, the speed drops from 80km per hour to 60 to support the bend, but neighbours say people do not slow down.
In October 2017, residents say a driver lost control speeding around this bend, gliding across a neighbours lawn, and then crashing into Helene Villeneuve’s driveway.
“It just shook my world,” Villeneuve said.
“I couldn’t go to work the next day – I wasn’t feeling safe in my own home.”
The most recent crash occurred this week, with a driver ending up in the ditch across from Villeneuve’s property.
Villeneuve requested statistic from the councillor for the area for the number of collisions in the last 15 years. She was provided the following numbers.
From 2002 to 2017 the collision history for Rideau Road between Bowesville and Downey is as follows:
- 10 collisions as a result of wildlife either striking or avoiding to hit
- 1 as a result of faulty equipment
- 3 as a result of either overtaking another vehicle or avoiding a vehicle reversing from driveway
- 12 as a result of road conditions (snow or ice) or driving too fast for roadway conditions
Residents are calling on the councillor, and the city of Ottawa, to add traffic calming measures to this stretch of road.
Councillor George Darouze says he’s working with the city’s transportation department on solutions.
Darouze would like to see the addition of barriers on the east and west sides, but says the funding may not be in the 2018 budget.
“The minute we have the funding to put in speed boards, we’re going to put them in for the residents,” Darouze said.
Darouze says an option may be to add one barrier now and the remaining barriers in 2019.
Another resident, George Sawaya, says the city needs to act now. A father, and husband, he says his family is afraid of their front yard.
Desperate to end speeding, Sawaya says he stands in his front yard with a radar gun to send a message.
“Sometimes at night we sit on our driveway, and it’s mostly 25 to 30 over,” Sawaya said.
Residents fearing the worst outcome say the city needs to make changes sooner than later.
“Any price that involves a life is too expensive,” Camarena said.
Darouze says he will be meeting city staff at the site this week, and plans to speak with residents about future changes.