Speed limit reduced to 60 km/h on parts of County Road 20
County Road 20 between Kingsville and Leamington is slowing down to 60 km/h from 80 km/h.
The speed will be consistently 60 km/h from east of Kratz Road in Kingsville to west of Sherk Street in Leamington.
The signs are going up next week.
Previously, the speed limit on this stretch went up and down between 60 and 80 km/h. An environmental assessment by Essex County determined that having consistency will improve traffic flow.
As for choosing 60 km/h rather than 80 km/h, director of infrastructure services Jane Mustac said they are bringing more "vulnerable users" to the area and a lower limit is safer.
"It doesn't have the characteristics of a typical highway," said Mustac.
Marlene Mastronardi, manager at Anna's Garden, Home and Wellness, would agree that 60 km/h is safer. She has seen many people speeding down the road.
"There's a lot of side streets connected to it, there's a lot of stops. And everyone needs to be more conscious and I think lowering the speed limit is going to do that," she said.
Rosemary Bastien, who drives along the stretch, also noticed the speed.
"There's a lot of tailgating and speeding up on the 80 going to 100. I notice that a lot," she said.
The environmental assessment looked at five years of data. According to Mustac, there are a lot of rear-end collisions in certain areas, mainly with people trying to turn left.
There are no other plans to lower other county road speed limits at this point.
