Progress on Oakville’s Neighbourhood Traffic Safety Program provided to council

The installation of 19 pedestrian crossovers and 11 community safe zones are among the acheivements this past year by the town in its effort to make Oakville’s residential streets safer.

At a meeting held earlier this week, Town Council received an update on the town’s Neighbourhood Traffic Safety Program and a workplan for 2023 to continue to build on the program originally approved back in 2018.

The program features six components which aim to address speeding and aggressive driving in Oakville’s residential neighbourhoods and enhance safety, each complementing the other to support the overall program.

The six components, which each compliment the other to support the overall program, include traffic calming, pedestrian crossovers (PXOs), Community Safety Zones (CSZ), Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE), 40 km/hour speed limit (reduced default speed limit) pilot initiative and Vision Zero.

Among the key accomplishments in the report for 2022 were:

• Implementation of the 40 km/hour area pilot in the Lakeshore Woods neighbourhood and collection of speed data from all three 40 km/hour area pilots (West River and Heritage Way)
• Installation of 19 PXOs
• Implementation of 11 CSZs and assessment of 14 road segments
• Completion of traffic calming surveys on 22 streets
• Completion of the Vision Zero study
• Completion of the design for two pedestrian signals, with design for two traffic signals initiated

“The town’s Neighbourhood Traffic Safety Program emphasizes Council’s commitment to a safe and livable Oakville. Whether you walk, cycle, or drive, this program helps to promote both safer driving and pedestrian behaviour,” said Mayor Rob Burton.

“The town will continue to engage with residents and community partners to identify areas of concern and to develop and enhance strategies tailored to the unique needs of various neighbourhoods. We thank our community for also keeping road safety top of mind and playing an active role to support this important program.”

Other initiatives in the workplan for this year aimed at achieving safer residential roads include:

• Completion of speed data analysis collected from all three 40 km/hour area pilots and presentation of the results to Council in Q3 2023, to determine next steps for the potential reduction of the town’s default speed limit
• Implementation of five CSZs and continued assessment of new requests as needed
• Installation of advance notification signs in 14 CSZs as part of the town’s new Automated Speed Enforcement program. The implementation of ASE cameras is expected in Q3 2023
• Implementation of traffic calming measures in front of four schools, Nautical Boulevard and any additional warranted locations based on the town’s established criteria
• Continuation of traffic calming surveys and assessment of new requests
• Installation of 30 new PXOs

The town also plans to continue education and ongoing engagement with the local residents to promote safer driving, cycling and pedestrian behaviour in residential areas and reduce speeding and aggressive driving.

Annual updates by town staff on the progress of the plan will be provided to council.

To learn more about the program, visit here.