Bayfield ward councillor Bill Whetstone says he's going to ask for support from the other Bluewater councillors to lower the speed limit in the village from 50 kilometres per hour to 30.
Whetstone says over the last few years, the number of complaints he's heard about people speeding in the village has increased. He says most of the complaints come in the summer months, and it's not just tourists. He says local residents also seem to be driving faster, so it's a growing concern. Whetstone points out there are no sidewalks in the village of Bayfield.
"Now you have to take into consideration, we don't have sidewalks. So our sidewalks are the road and when people are walking along in Bayfield and even if you're doing 50, which is the speed limit, it's still fast when you're not walking on sidewalks. So we do think that will definitely help people slow down,” he said. "Some of these roads we have here in Bayfield, there's very few stop signs so people tend to get sped up a little bit. And I don't think it's going to be any major change. You think 50 to 30, it's going to take me longer to get some place. Well you can walk across the village of Bayfield in probably fifteen minutes so it might take you an extra fifteen seconds.”
Whetstone says he'll be making his motion at council's next meeting and he says he's not suggesting the reduced speed limit has to be limited to Bayfield. He says if any of the other communities feel they'd like to reduce their speed limit he's be happy to support that as well.
