What’s a bollard, you may ask? Well, it’s a sturdy pole secured to the ground on neighbourhood streets where drivers have been known to travel at a faster clip than the posted limit.
The traffic-calming measure reduces speed by physically narrowing the street so drivers are forced to pay attention and slow down. The bollards around town are flexible and designed to bend on impact.
In Newmarket's recent municipal election, many candidates told NewmarketToday that speeding on neighbourhood streets is a top concern for residents.
Newmarket launched a pilot project in 2016 placing on-street and bike lane bollards on Savage Road and Ivsbridge Boulevard. In 2017, the bollard program was expanded to include Sawmill Valley Drive and Sandford Street.
Data collected from solar-powered speed radar boards on local streets can help inform the placement of bollards and other traffic-calming measures. For example, so far in 2018, 57 per cent of the 61,611 drivers clocked on Stonehaven Avenue, between Landresse Court and Secretariate Road, drove between 1 and 10 kilometres over the speed limit.
The bollards will be removed this week to make it easier for the snowplows to keep the streets clear, but before they are re-installed in the spring, the Town wants your views on the bollards.
A survey at Hey Newmarket wants to know if you’ve seen the bollards around town, if you’ve driven through them, did they slow you down, and did they confuse you or make you nervous? And you’ll be asked to rank a number of other options to control speed including speed humps, stop signs, bicycle lanes and narrower roads.
To participate in the survey, visit here.
For more information on traffic and bike safety, visit here.
