by CONNIE TABBERT
Editor
COBDEN — There are children living on almost every road in Whitewater Region. The public works committee recently had to decide if Children at Play signs need to be posted on roads where the speed limit is 80 kilometres an hour.
The committee discussed a request to erect Children at Play signs on Sturgeon Mountain Road. A resident advised, through a letter to the municipality, that her children walk on that road and vehicles do not slow down.
Councillor Charlene Jackson noted the speed limit on that road is 80 kilometres an hour and has not been changed since the residents moved onto it.
She noted roads are made for driving on, not for children to play on. She further noted there are only two children on the road where the signs are asked to be erected.
“It would be too costly to put up signs on every road,” she said.
Continuing, she questioned, “Are we going to put Children at Play signs on every road that is 80 kilometres? I don’t mean to be mean, but they knew when they bought the house, that it was an 80 kilometer an hour zone.”
Children at Play signs should only be erected in areas where children are attracted to a certain area, Coun. Jackson said.
Mayor Hal Johnson noted that Children at Play signs are only to be erected for school grounds, ball diamonds and parks. The signs that should be erected, if agreed to, are Watch for Children or if there are a lot of children playing, just reduce the speed limit, he said.
Councillor Daryl McLaughlin agreed with Coun. Jackson. Children at Play signs were requested at a section of Jeffrey Lake Road and the two signs were placed on either side of a home.
“There’s a cost to these signs,” he said. “I think we need, if we’re going to do this, a structure of how many children live on the roads, how many houses on the road.
“I think we need guidelines for the signs,” he said. “I’m sure everybody would love, as Councillor Jackson said, to have Children at Play signs on every road.”
The committee is not recommending that a Children at Play sign be erected on Sturgeon Mountain Road.
