Flexible delineators, altered paint, intended to make school zone safer
School zones are among the most regulated traffic areas, and on the road in front of Glynn A. Green the town has implemented new measures designed to calm traffic. Stretching out on Pelham road is series of “flexible delineators,” four-foot plastic posts designed to guide traffic without inflicting permanent damage to vehicles.
The intersection of Pelham and Port Robinson roads has long been a dangerous one, said Andrea Clemencio, the town’s Director of Public Works. According to her, the town had heard complaints from the school, parents, bus drivers, the Active Transportation Committee, and from Glynn A. Green’s crossing guards. She added that “85% of vehicles travelled the area at 18km/h above the speed limit, or higher, with top speeds hitting 90 km/h during school crossing times.”
Last June, a test project was completed, and it was concluded that flexible delineators and altered street markings would dramatically diminish the dangers posed at the corner. Subsequently, the posts were installed and were present until last winter, when they were removed to permit regular snow-plowing operations. The town’s intention was to have the delineators installed between March and November, though when they were replaced this spring, their arrangement was modified so that year-round installation could be a possibility. While the effectiveness of the changes is obviously reduced during the winter months, Clemencio emphasized that the altered paint present through the winter, which included amended lane widths and stop lines, “addressed a large part of the safety issues in the area.”
Those delineators situated along the centre of the road, south of the intersection, are intended to deter passing, while those at the southeast and northwest corners are present to prevent aggressive turns. Ed Minchin, who lives nearby and often sits on a ledge that borders the sidewalk, has been pleased with their effectiveness. “Now things are better, but I used to see so many people make hard right-hand turns,” he said, speculating that many head up the hill to cut through the cemetery. Minchin said that he hadn’t seen anyone hit any of the posts, though last week one on the south side was noticeably crooked.
Not everyone has been pleased with the changes. There has been plenty of anecdotal complaining about the delineators, and last summer the town received calls that they were ineffective and a “nuisance.” Clemencio confirmed that the town has been in contact with a neighbouring resident who asked that the posts be moved to make access to their driveway more straightforward, a request that will be included in the Public Works report to be presented at the Committee of the Whole.
