There is a lot of attention being paid to a small stretch of rural road west of Frankford.
Quinte West council was presented with a 900 signature petition Monday night asking that the
speed limit on part of the Frankford-Foxboro Road be raised back to 80 kmh from 60 kmh.
Recently, after information from the OPP and a 37 signature petition asking for the drop in the speed limit,
two municipal committees and finally Quinte West council approved the slower speed.
Residents living on the 2.3 km stretch between Frankford and Wallbridge had concerns about speeding
and safety.
However, Monday night at council, Ron and Robin Keller presented the much larger petition stating that
most people living in the area had not been consulted before the change.
They say the drop to 60 kmh from 80 kmh is actually making that part of County Road 5 more dangerous
because more people are being tempted to pull out and pass because of the speed differential between 60 and 80 kmh.
They suggested that the OPP do more enforcement.
Councillor Rob McIntosh said he’d noticed more traffic on nearby roads now, with many drivers speeding on what
are less well maintained roads because of the drop in the speed limit on the Frankford-Foxboro Road.
He added that council may have made the decision too hastily.
Councillor Jim Alyea said that this was the most contentious speed limit change he’d ever experienced in his many years on council and that council should make the public more aware of changes being considered.
Organizer of the original petition asking for the lower limit, Janice Carr, told council that if it decides to reverse its
decision and increase the speed limit it was turning its back on residents’ safety.
For its part, Staff Sergeant Greg McLennan from the Quinte West OPP said speed limits have nothing to
do with speeders, meaning speed limits don’t control speeding. He was clear in his belief that there needed
to be a step down stretch from 80 to 60 to 50 in the village of Frankford itself. The Staff Sergeant stressed that
the OPP did not make the decision to change the limit, but simply provided information to public committee.
After many comments from the public, Quinte West council voted to send the matter back to the Public Works Committee and the OPP for further study and information.