The Kenny Dam Road speed limit has changed again.
At the last regular council meeting on August 17, the mayor and council voted in favour of having the speed limit reinstated to what it originally was which is 50 kph to the top of the hill and then 80 kph to the municipal boundary.
The dispute over the speed limit began last fall when a resolution was passed by council to reduce the speed limit within the municipal boundary on Kenny Dam Road from 80kph to 60kph to improve the safety for road users.
Although the resolution passed, it was not supported by councillors Steve Little and Darren Carpenter.
In July this year more than 40 residents who live along Kenny Dam Road signed a request to council to consider changing the speed limit on the road to back to 80 kph within the municipal boundaries, as it was before. In the written request, residents took issue with not being consulted on the change.
“The motion was made and passed without the residents that live within the district boundaries who use this road many times a day being consulted … while we don’t quarrel with the intent, we believe that if safety was an issue, we the residents should have been able to give our input,” the letter stated.
The speed limit was discussed during the July 20 council meeting during which a compromise was suggested by Coun. Jack French who created a motion to establish the speed limit on Kenny Dam Road as 60 kph from the bottom of the hill and increase it to 70 kph at the top of the hill to the municipal boundary.
Councillors decided to postpone the motion until the next council meeting on August 17 to allow district staff to consult with local residents and gather information from the RCMP about accidents on that stretch of road.
At the August 17 council meeting, Carl Larsen, a resident who lives on the Kenny Dam Road spoke in favour of reinstating the original speed limits.
“I live on that road and there’s no one on that road that is adhering to that speed limit,” said Larsen.
“Increase the speed back to 80 – putting it at 60 kph hasn’t made a difference to anybody – it’s not being enforced – it’s making a bunch of criminals out of everybody who lives up that way,” he said.
Coun. Carpenter said he didn’t see the need for a reduced speed limit since the police report came back with only one accident a while back towards the bottom of the hill.
“Yes it seems safe but the need for it is not there, nor is it requested by the folks who live up in that area.
“I would still like to see it go back to its original 50 kph to 80 kph at the very least, 60 to 80 kph doesn’t make a whole of bad sense either,” said Carpenter.
Councillor Reid said he would like to see a speed limit of 60 kph carried on all the way up to Redekop Road.
“I would like to make a friendly amendment that if we go to 60 kph we carry that out to Redekop Road – that takes care of all the drive ways on that corner,” said Reid.
“My mother-in-law lives up there and I personally have had several close calls – what they [drivers] do beyond Redekop Road is up to them,” he said.
The first motion that was put on the table at the July 20 meeting to put the speed limit at 70 kph from the top of the hill to the municipal boundary was defeated and a new motion to reinstate the original speed limit was made by Coun. Carpenter.
All councillors in voted in favour of the motion except for Coun. Reid.
