Kingston city council moves forward with various new road safety measures

Story by Christena Lawrie, CFRC's Broadcast Journalist and Local Journalism Initiative Reporter.

Council passed several new road safety measures on Tuesday that are set to come into effect in the coming weeks.

A report presented to council by staff identified various problem areas in terms of road safety throughout the city. To address these issues, the report called for various interventions, including new restrictions on parking, U-turns, right turns on red lights, as well as speed limit reductions.

The report includes new no parking and no stopping areas on roadways surrounding a long list of schools in the area on the grounds that these targeted restrictions would make the roads safer for students.

Other stipulations include that U-turns will be prohibited on Princess Street at the intersection with Midland Avenue and a right turns-on-red will be prohibited on Division Street at the intersection with Guy Street. There will also be a speed limit reduction on Perth Road north of Unity Road. There will also be a speed limit reduction on Perth Road north of Unity Road.

In addition to these changes, Coun. Lisa Osanic and Coun. Don Amos brought forth a motion to add three-way or all-way stops to various intersections to curtail speeding and reckless driving, stating in the motion that the list of areas “are problematic and cause grave concerns.”