Alison Sandor
The new speed tables on Viseneau
The speed tables were installed on Viseneau between Innes and Boyer following two collisions in recent months, including one that left an 18-year-old girl in critical condition.
Speed tables are lower than speed bumps, meaning they are easier for the OC Transpo buses that use the route to handle.
But residents say they also allow general traffic to drive over them more quickly.
“They allow for a higher speed, so it slowed down let’s say a significant part of the traffic, but there’s also a good amount of traffic that’s still speeding, you know, going up to 65 km/h in a 40 km/h zone, because they’re not as effective as all the other speed humps adjacent to our street,” said Pat Teolis.
He said they wanted the city to build speed humps, like it did on Barrington Street between Viseneau and Beausejour Drive, but Viseneau received speed tables because it is a bus route.
“We’ve asked if they could add some road narrowings to help, so we’re waiting for that now,” said Teolis.
Innes Ward Councillor Jody Mitic said despite the new traffic calming measures, his office is still receiving complaints about speeding on the street, which many people use at a short cut.
“Not everyone is going to slow down for a speed hump,” said Mitic. “I don’t know what the answer is.”
“I think we just have to wait until we have self driving cars,” he joked.
Mitic said they are looking at reversing the parking on the road.
“We’re going to continue to look at what are the options,” said Mitic. “At this point there’s one more thing we might try, which is maybe flipping the parking to the other side of the street, but I’m still looking at that option with staff. They’re not sure if that’s actually going to increase safety or decrease it.”
Ottawa Police say they’ve issued 35 tickets on Viseneau since June – and that the area remains one of their priorities.
Police report only two formal speeding complaints on Viseneau in the same time period.
Source: CFRA