Councillor wants to pump brakes on speeding through York, P.E.I.

A member of municipal council in York, P.E.I., wants to reduce the speed through his community because of too many accidents and close calls he says have occurred over the past couple of years.

Mark Ashley said far too many motorists are ignoring the speed limit on a busy stretch of road along Route 25, between Route 2 and the Hardy Mills Road.

He thinks it's time to talk about reducing the speed through his community.

"It's really picked up the last few years, particularly on the weekends," he said. "As people want to go out to the beaches here, can get a little bit like Talladega or Indianapolis 500 here on the weekends, quite dangerous."

According to the province, an average of more than 2,800 vehicles use the road everyday.

The number jumps substantially during the busy tourist season.

Part of the problem, Ashley said, is that speed limits in the area are inconsistent.

The speed limit is 60 km/h for southbound traffic, while it increases to 80 km/h for motorists driving in the opposite direction.

Speeding through the area isn't a new problem according to Ashley or other homeowners in the area.

'Increasingly difficult to stay safe here'

He said there have been a number of accidents and close calls over the years.

He adds it's particularly dangerous to turn on and off the busy road.

"I have a business, next door, there's another business," he said. "There's a daycare down the road, some seniors living in the area as well as some young children. So, it's becoming increasingly difficult to stay safe here."

Residents said slower traffic along Route 25 can't come soon enough, and that reducing the speed limit is a good first step.

The province is already taking some measures to get drivers to slow down.

It's placed an electronic traffic sign near Veseys to at least try to get people to be aware of their speed.

"We're willing to work with the community and we're willing to go in and have a closer look at the situation and see if there's other things we can do like traffic calming measures that can help slow the vehicles down," said Minister of Transportation, Energy and Infrastructure Steven Myers.

"We'll go out and see what we can do and how we can help the community solve the issue."

Ashley said he plans to raise the issue of speeding at the next council meeting and continue to lobby the province to have the speed lowered.

"I don't think anyone would consider safety to be something that's frivolous and shouldn't be looked at," he said.

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