As I sit listening to vehicles speed by my back deck, I feel compelled to write this open letter as yet another means of trying to proactively bring about some consistent reduction of extremely excessive speeds in our 50 kilometre an hour (km/h) residential zone in Olds.
We have lived along 57th Avenue south of 60th Street for over two years and for the most part, enjoy the multi-generational, multi-cultural community very much.
The on-going and glaring area of exception to this, is the extreme amount of excessive speeding that occurs regularly along the above mentioned stretch of roadway. It is a 50 km/h zone in keeping with the standard speed limit within the town of Olds. The east side is bounded by trees without residences, so may give the impression (without speed limit signage) that a driver is already in the country-side thus an 80 km/h plus speed zone. Not so.
This is a very heavy traffic route which has increased since a pavement upgrade in September 2020. I acknowledge this fact but fail to see how this translates to the 50 km/h speed limit being overlooked or at least, apparently unenforced in spite of area police patrolling and sporadic digital speed monitors.
As with most high traffic areas, there are peak times; getting to and from work, noontime and Saturday trips to the landfill.
I have been in communication with Town of Olds Protective Services (which includes bylaw enforcement), and Olds RCMP, have filled out community surveys and have personally presented my concerns and suggestions for improvement to a council policies and priorities committee on May 2 of this year.
My suggestions have included installing visible speed limit signage along this strip and photo-radar and regular radar that is not so highly visible -- not parking marked police vehicles on the road-side in clear view of vehicles approaching and leaving the 60th Street stop sign. Visible cruisers are a great speed deterrent but a very temporary remedy, effective only for the time they are parked in a specific place.
I have been asked by Town of Olds Protective Services Director Justin Andrew to be patient with this problem, and that a proposal is currently being compiled to be presented to town council this fall at an undisclosed date. I am also told by the director that speeding is not isolated to the area of which I speak, but present throughout the town of Olds. I would suggest this makes it an even more pressing problem requiring more urgency to address and correct sooner than later.
In closing, I thank you for this opportunity to share the above information and to make a heart-felt plea to drivers in Olds using 57th Avenue south of 60th Street: if you were unaware of the 50 km/h speed limit in this location, please consider this letter for your information and kindly abide by this regulation.
My neighbours and I thank you in advance for your efforts in making our neighbourhood(s) safer and quieter places in which to live.
Safe travels.
Val Warnock,
Olds
