Eight Roadways to Receive Traffic-Calming Infrastructure This Year
But here’s the essential point: the city plans to install permanent traffic-calming features on eight top-priority roads this year, with speed humps as the leading candidate due to their low cost and broad popularity.
During the February 18 operations committee meeting at the Lionel E. Lalonde Centre in Azilda, Traffic and Transportation manager David Knutson confirmed that the eight highest-priority streets are slated for permanent measures this year, most likely in the form of speed humps.
The city currently lists 41 priority roadways eligible for traffic-calming infrastructure. Last year’s list saw eight removals because those sites are set to receive infrastructure later in 2025, and 12 new locations were added after further review determined they qualified.
Knutson indicated there’s a good chance a large portion—if not the majority—of the 41 will receive funding for permanent installations, funded by automated speed-enforcement camera revenue from 2025 and another round of provincial funding the city expects to confirm later this year.
Until permanent works are ready, the 41-priority group will use traffic-calming bollards as a temporary measure where appropriate. Note that some locations, such as rural cross sections without curbs, cannot accommodate bollards because drivers tend to drive in the ditch to bypass them.
Traffic-calming bollards consist of three flexible posts placed on the sides and center of a street to narrow driving space and slow vehicles. Posts are spaced about 150 metres apart and are installed once spring street-sweeping and line-painting wrap up. A city study of 18 bollard sites last year found an average speed reduction of about two kilometres per hour. While Ward 4 Councillor Pauline Fortin noted the difference is small, Knutson emphasised that even minor speed reductions can meaningfully improve pedestrian survivability in a collision.
The eight locations scheduled for permanent traffic-calming infrastructure this year are:
- Brenda Drive (Moonrock Avenue to St Charles Lake Road)
- Lansing Avenue (Lasalle Boulevard to Maley Drive)
- Grandview Boulevard (Montrose Avenue to Wedgewood Drive)
- Bancroft Drive (Kingsway to Bellevue Avenue)
- King Street (Morin Avenue to Notre Dame Avenue)
- Kelly Lake Road (Southview Drive to Copper Street)
- Robinson Drive (Kelly Lake Road and Southview Drive)
- Auger Avenue (Lasalle Boulevard to Gemmell Street)
Although bollards have already been installed in these eight locations in prior years, they will not be installed again this year because the city expects to upgrade to permanent infrastructure. City engineers are evaluating each site to determine the most suitable form of traffic-calming; speed humps are considered the most likely option due to cost-effectiveness and favorable resident reception.
Beyond speed humps, the city’s traffic-management toolkit also includes curb extensions and raised median islands, among other measures. Financing for this expansion has been supported in part by revenue from automated speed cameras, as well as provincial funds. Although the province removed the city’s authority to use speed-camera revenue last year, the city had already directed that income toward traffic calming. A spokesperson noted that last year’s total and the 2025 figures would be announced at the April operations committee meeting.
To fill the funding gap left by the cameras’ restriction, the province has provided initial funding of $546,000 for traffic-calming projects, with a second round of funding expected to open early this year. Staff will apply then to cover additional installations.
The city’s evaluation process for traffic-calming projects uses a point system based on several factors: collision history, traffic speeds, non-local traffic, traffic volumes, pedestrian generators, pedestrian facilities, emergency services and routes, traffic services and routes, block length, adjacent land uses, and cycling routes. Although 12 sites were added this year, the city investigated 41. The rationale for disqualifying 36 streets from traffic-calming is available through the linked documents.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
