Limeridge and Gateway neighbours call for traffic calming measures

January 22, 2026 · 0 Comments

Further traffic calming measures might come to the Limeridge Street and Gateway Drive neighbourhoods after neighbours made their case to Council last week.

At issue was a traffic calming assessment on the two streets carried out by municipal staff.

Their report found that traffic volume on Limeridge between Gateway and Kirkvalley Crescent and Gateway between Pedersen Drive and Earl Stewart Drive/Birkshire Drive wasn’t sufficient enough to warrant further calming measures.

Residents, however, said that, from their perspective, the need was plain to see.

Neighbour Irina Sfranciog said traffic bollards are needed near the curves where “speeding is most pervasive.”

“You will hear that a recent speed study did not qualify Limeridge Street under the municipality’s standard thresholds for traffic calming,” she said. “You will hear that our street may not meet the typical traffic volume or speed benchmarks, but I’m here to ask you to implement the traffic calming measures in any event.”

Limeridge is being used as a cut-through off Gateway to avoid traffic at Bayview Avenue and St. John’s Sideroad, she said, with drivers often entering mid-block. There is also a high volume of delivery trucks in the area, she said.

“This combination creates a high-risk environment, especially given the physical layout of the street,” she said. “Limeridge has no sidewalks. As a result, children, families, and pedestrians have no choice but to play and walk directly on the street. During the evening rush hours, especially in the summer, it is common to see children playing outside and residents, including myself and neighbours, regularly place orange pylons directly on the street to signal to drivers to slow down. These pylons are a makeshift safety measure used daily because residents feel that they have no other options. This alone should signal that the current conditions are not safe.

“The speed study does not capture reality. While it does provide data, it does not capture the day-to-day lived experience of residents. We witness speeding incidents and near-misses regularly, especially during the summer months. The risk is further compounded by dense foliage and tree coverage at 55 Limeridge Street, which is directly located on one of the street’s curves, and this creates a blind corner. Yet vehicles continue to take the turn at unsafe speeds. This physical obstruction significantly increases the likelihood that a serious accident will happen, and it underscores the urgency for immediate intervention.”

Further measures were also supported by resident Michael Annarilli, who said the posted 40 km/h speed limit on Gateway is not being followed, something that was backed up by the speed study.

“This data points a clear picture: the majority of drivers that are not respecting the 40 kilometre an hour limit and the current road conditions do not support safe speeds,” he said. “When half the vehicles on a residential street exceed the posted speed limit, that is not a driver problem, it is a road design problem. The speed study shows that 40-kilometer-an-hour speed limit is effectively ignored by the majority of drivers, and that drivers feel comfortable travelling much faster. This puts families, children, seniors, pedestrians at unnecessary risk every single day.

“We are not asking for anything unreasonable; we are asking for speeding mitigation measures that align with driver behaviour, with the law. So, we’re looking for speed cushions, as seen on Pedersen Drive, the connecting street, flexible bollards, as seen fronting the school on Bridgenorth Drive, boulevard slow-down signs at a minimum, this is a very minimal cost to the town, on-road slow-down or max 40 pavement markings, and edge lines to narrow the roadway, and that’s bare minimum…. Let’s protect residents and prevent serious accidents before it happens, not after.”

Council voiced unanimous support for exploring further measures, asking for further input from the Town’s Traffic Safety Advisory Committee before direction is given, potentially as early as the end of this month.

Ward 5 Councillor John Gallo said while he respected staff’s analysis of the situation, discussions were fulsome at the last meeting of the Advisory Committee and more of their input was needed.

“There are always items when these things come up that are not necessarily part of our protocol but you can’t ignore,” he said. “My preference is for the Committee to weigh in on this in a wholesome way so that we’re not doing this piecemeal…. My preference would be to have the Committee review this with the aim of it coming to Council in the February cycle.”

Ward 3 Councillor Wendy Gaertner said she agreed the entire Gateway neighbourhood should be looked at as “it is a design that encourages speeding” and was not meant to be a bypass of the nearby intersection.

“As Michael, our delegate, said, so many streets exit onto Gateway we need to look at the whole area, and I would like to bring it back to the committee,” she said.

Mayor Tom Mrakas said residents know their neighbourhoods best and when they come forward with concerns like these, it’s up to Council to act.

“I’ve always maintained in all these instances that when these come to Council, that if the residents in the area feel that there’s a need for traffic calming, then I think it’s imperative that we move forward and allow them to have that traffic calming in the area,” he said, suggesting an amendment supported by Council that the request be approved pending the report and design coming back to Council.

“They know the area best, they know their neighbourhood, they know their streets, and if they’re that strongly in favour of it, that we should help them in that regard. These are safety matters and it’s important for our communities and our neighbourhoods.”

Added Ward 4 Councillor Michael Thompson: “I’m supportive of it going back to the Committee, but at the same time, I wanted the residents to know that I’m also supportive of the idea of implementing some measures to address the issues, and so I look forward to seeing what the Committee comes back with and agree that time is of the essence. I’m glad to hear that it can be accommodated at the earliest possible opportunity.”

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter