Tamarac Trail residents rejoiced Tuesday evening after Aurora council gave them a long-awaited stop sign.
Several residents came to the May 28 council meeting, calling for some form of traffic calming measure to curb what they said was dangerous levels of speeding.
Caitlyn Harris spoke alongside her nine-year-old daughter, Mieka, saying she and her children had been nearly hit on several occasions by speeding drivers.
“I stand in the middle of the street and tell them to run,” she said during the meeting.
Harris added that a number of drivers starting using Tamarac Trail to avoid traffic when Henderson Drive was undergoing construction and have not stopped since, and the road continue to be disproportionately busy.
Harris then handed the microphone to her daughter.
“Shouldn’t I not be scared of crossing the street?” asked Mieka.
Each speaker was met with enthusiastic applause from neighbours watching on from the gallery in council chambers.
“People are driving too fast. We have a new generation of drivers, they’re not really considerate, they don’t really take into account safety and children, it’s a different time,” said Joyce Mikros, another Tamarac Trail resident.
"We've been trying for 30 years, so hopefully this will be it."
Town staff said area did not warrant stop sign
Town staff initially recommended against adding any traffic calming measures.
Having conducted traffic assessments on Tamarac between McClellan Way and Henderson, staff found the road did not meet criteria. Staff also looked at converting the two-way stop at Tamarac and Albery Crescent into an all-way stop, but found that was also not warranted, based on Ontario Traffic Manual guidelines.
“It’s curved, it’s crazy,” said Councillor Wendy Gaertner. “This street seems to come up constantly. I know it doesn’t meet the warrants, but I don’t understand it.”
Gaertner later added, “I think we need to listen to residents.”
Councillor Rachel Gilliland said she was concerned a stop sign would create a “false sense of security” for residents, with drivers liable to perform rolling stops.
After some discussion from councillors on the exact design, council eventually approved motions to install multiple traffic-calming measures.
These include a stop sign at Tamarac and Albery, as well as flexible bollards on Tamarac and possibly an urban shoulder.
