Sometimes the stupidity of city hall, and other levels of government, is laughable. Case in point are the changes in Toronto since Premier Doug Ford eliminated Automated Speed Cameras. Rather than reconsidering the arbitrarily low speed limits on city streets, limits far below the ‘design speed’ of the road, the solution being implemented is giant signs.
At 2.5m (8′) tall, the signs are too large for Toronto’s existing sign poles, and instead will require taller wooden poles to be installed across the city.
The Premier laughed at Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, and mocked municipalities for being unable to deal with such simple problems.
“So, let’s get this straight: all the other municipalities, there’s no problem. But sure enough, it’s Toronto again…they can’t put up a big sign? Like, do I have to go there and show them how to put up a big sign? I think it’s just another excuse. It’s a joke. I can’t believe it.”
– Ontario Premier Doug Ford
The design speed of a road is the maximum safe speed a car can drive over a stretch of road, taking into account features like curves and road width. That’s why a highways are straight with wide radius curves; even with a safety margin, such roads can be driven on quickly. Putting up a sign with a posted limit at half the design speed won’t change driver behaviour.
Implementing speed management devices like speed bumps, chicanes, roundabouts, curb extensions or simply narrowing a road by re-assigning a lane to transit only, changes the design speed of a road. The speed a driver would travel on a straight, wide road will always be higher than the speed they could carry on a narrow, winding road, or one with chicanes and rumble strips.
Just putting up a sign isn’t traffic management, and it certainly isn’t going to protect anyone sharing the road with cars. This simple fact just escapes the brain trust at city hall.
Lol. No, really, raise our taxes and get bigger. I’m sure you’ll do an even better job then…
The comedy of this whole photo radar, street sign silliness is the mayor here in Toronto. Speed cameras were supposed to fund road safety initiatives. But the mayor let it slip during a press conference that the funds just go directly to the city budget; not where the money was SUPPOSED to go. Now there’s a shortfall.
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So, the solution in a budget crunch? Replace all the sign posts at a heavy cost.
I’d say you get what you vote for, but I’ve been on the minority end of the electorate far too many times.
I guess it’s you get what the people you choose to live with vote for?
Sounds like the mayor is trying to keep the transportation department busy. I’ll bet she’s never thought of leaving speed signs as they are, and reducing the size of city hall.
That’s a good one.
The premier (in charge of the province) who used to be on city council. When he moved up to provincial politics, he reduced the number of city councillors in Toronto from 47 to 25 in the middle of a mayoral election in 2019. That was a solid F.U. to his old colleagues.