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Shelburne Speed Limit Reduced to 40km/hour

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SHELBURNE SPEED LIMITS REDUCED TO 40Km/HOUR

People driving in Shelburne will need to slow down a bit now that the speed limit has been reduced. 

On July 26, 2021, Shelburne councillors unanimously voted to enact the necessary bylaw amendments required to reduce the speed limit of the majority of the town’s roads to 40km per hour. The current exception to the speed limit reduction is the connecting links which are Owen Sound Street (Highway 10) and Main Street (Highway 10/89).

Source: Town of Shelburne

Similar to many municipalities, Shelburne has been combatting people speeding in the area. In June, before lowering the speed limits, councillors discussed traffic measures on Greenwood Avenue, which involved a failed motion regarding the installation of temporary speed humps. Liability concerns involving cyclists and those riding motorbikes were cited, in addition to wanting to wait on a speeding enforcement options report that will provide more insights.

In the July 26 meeting, Shelburne Council received a presentation from Provincial Constable Jennifer Roach of the Ontario Provincial Police. One of the messages communicated was that the public could assist the police in their duties through the timely notification to the authorities of traffic complaints and matters related to public safety. Reporting issues directly to the police, instead of Facebook, Town Hall, and local councillors, generates data and better tracking of threats that officers can act upon when it comes to prevention and enforcement. 

“The unfortunate part is,” said Constable Roach, “that when people think, ‘Oh, I didn’t see who did it, I don’t know anything about it,’ they’re very hesitant to report it.”

Shelburne Council was told how the public need not worry about how many times an incident had been reported. The reports are all logged under a single occurrence number. More calls generate more data. Constable Roach outlined how this assists with crime analysis.

“It doesn’t matter if ten people have already reported that ahead of somebody,” explained Constable Roach. “At least it’s being reported.”

Councillor Walter Benotto inquired whether a concentration of occurence reports in an area, particularly with calls to the non-emergency line, could lead to increased police presence. Benotto described how many residents have notified him of drivers going through particular stop signs and how informing him doesn’t help police with timely and effective data collection or enforcement. 

“Absolutely,” agreed Constable Roach. “If they’re witnessing a car going through a stop sign, if they can get a license plate, we can send that information off to our field support unit for a warning letter to be sent directly to the owner of the license plate.”

Constable Roach spoke of how the police can take different avenues for different types of offences with the public’s assistance.

“In all honesty, we can’t fix what we don’t know is broken,” stated Constable Roach. “This is how we find out.”

The established reporting process is as follows.

  • Immediate life-threatening or dangerous situation – Call 911
  • Non-Emergency Incidents – Call 1-888-310-1122
  • Minor crimes such as driving complaints, theft, stolen license plates, damage, mischief that don’t involve injury, a suspect, or evidence at the scene – Use www.opp.ca/reporting

Constable Roach said that although the crimes reported through the non-emergency line or the online reporting tool may not entail an in-person visit from an officer, constables from the field support unit will call to follow-up and compose a formal report.

“We’ve had a few incidents since the amalgamation where people are getting upset because no one is coming to their house, but they’ve received a phone call,” shared Constable Roach. “They feel that no one has dealt with a call because an actual officer hasn’t shown up, but rest assured it’s being looked into.”

References – Shelburne Speed Limit Reduced to 40km/hour

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