ONE OF THE biggest concerns raised by residents is speeding traffic in residential subdivisions. Recently, some new traffic calming measures were installed in the Thornhill Woods subdivision that generated some safety concerns from area residents.
The City of Vaughan does not implement traffic calming measures unless they are being requested by the residents themselves. Instead, the city provides for a process through which residents can work with our traffic engineering staff to develop a traffic calming plan for their neighbourhood.
These traffic calming committees are not made up of any council members or staff but, rather, area residents where improvements are desired. The entire process allows for continuous public input. All information regarding the committee, its meetings and the forming of the plan are public.
In the case of the Thornhill Woods area, various sizes of centre medians and traffic circles were chosen in the hope of making the neighbourhood safer.
Unfortunately, traffic circles are still quite foreign to drivers here and as such have raised a lot of fears and confusions from residents. Part of the issue we have identified is a driver’s lack of knowledge about the circles themselves. At all traffic circles, drivers are expected to yield to traffic inside the circle, including pedestrians and bicyclists. Drivers are reminded to keep to their right, which should resolve any confusion at these intersections.
We have taken steps to provide educational pamphlets showing how to navigate around the new measures and have also enlisted the help of York Regional Police to undertake safety blitzes. For details, please contact me at sandra.racco@vaughan.ca or call 905-832-8585, ext. 8342.