Wawa Municipal Council appears split on lowering the speed limit for residential streets.
In this week's Committee of the Whole meeting, Infrastructure Services Assistant Director Rebecca Weatherall outlined a report on lowering the speed limit to 40 kilometers an hour for most roads in town, except Mission Road and Main Street where they're part of Highway 101 (as the provincial government set that limit at 50 kilometers an hour) or the Mission Road into Michipicoten River Village or Harbour Road.
Weatherall noted that the "Speed Spy" occasionally used to monitor traffic on roads found there actually was not a lot of speeding, but she acknowledged the "perception" of speeding, adding heavy equipment traffic was far outnumbered by personal vehicles - noting the muncipality's sought to vary routes for its heavy vehicles since complaints last year, but added the vehicles also have difficulty getting up to even 40 km/h due to conditions - with Councillor Mitch Hatfield confirming that the "School Zone" is already limited to 40 km/h.
Councillor Joseph Opato stated opposition to lowering the speed limit for other roads, saying those in the Government Road area wish it was a 50 km/h instead of 40 km/h, while Councillor Cathy Cannon also spoke out against lowering the limit - casting doubt on whether it'd be effective - and Mayor Melanie Pilon acknowledged concerns about speeding, saying "perception is reality" but also doubting the need to reduce the limit across the community, further suggesting there may be other options, like the possibility of the "Speed Spy" being used to help issue tickets, which she noted could bring in revenue.
No resolution was brought forward to confirm any change at this time.
