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While the City of Ottawa has received a batch of temporary school-zone signs intended to be installed following the provincial ban on speed cameras, installation may be delayed since the signs sent from the province are too large to fit on the city’s standard poles.
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Manufactured by the Ontario government, the huge signs warn drivers of increased fines when speeding in school zones. More than a week after speed cameras across the province were turned off, the signs are being delivered as an alternative speed-reduction measure promised by the province.
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While the signs have officially been shipped to Ottawa, an installation timeline is up in the air as the city figures out a way to install the 12-foot-tall “highway-sized, giant signs” in school zones across the city, said Beacon Hill-Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney.
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And these newly delivered signs also won’t stay forever — they’ll only be temporary as the province works on a design for the final signs, which will include large, flashing beacons. The province is also working on regulation changes for the new signs.
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But with these new speed-reduction measures set to be implemented, Tierney said he’s heard from many people who are concerned that increased signage won’t work to slow people down, no matter how large or flashy the signs may be.
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“Our data shows signs don’t do anything, so they’ll change a pattern for maybe a little bit, then people will go right back to it,” said Tierney, who also chairs the public works and infrastructure committee.
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“You just have to laugh,” Tierney said of the signs with beacons. “It’s like, wait a minute, hold on. Is this a Vegas sign? Yeah, like that’s going to stop everybody dead in their tracks.”
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The provincial Ministry of Transportation did not respond in time for comment when asked about the exact dimensions of the signs and why they have to be so much bigger than the school-zone signs currently in place across the city.
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Tierney confirmed the signs delivered to Ottawa are bilingual, quelling previous concerns about further delays, since the English-only concepts for the signs wouldn’t work in Ottawa given its designation as a bilingual city.
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In addition to the signs, the city is also looking into other traffic-calming measures to reduce speeds in school zones since speed cameras have been turned off. Police enforcement has increased in areas across the city where the cameras were previously located, Tierney said.
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