Man Asks To Finish FaceTime Call After Being Pulled Over By Officer; Peterborough Police Release Traffic Enforcement Initiative Results

While the Peterborough Police Traffic Unit conducted traffic enforcement initiatives in Lakefield and Peterborough, a man asked an officer if he could finish his FaceTime call after being pulled over on Wednesday.

File photo.

The man was holding his phone while operating a vehicle in Peterborough when he was pulled over according to a police report. When stopped, he asked if he could finish his conversation before speaking to the officer.

He was one of three people who were issued tickets when officers were at George and Simcoe Street. Two warnings were also issued in separate incidents.

In Lakefield, officers were in the area of Water and Bridge Street and issued two warnings connected to a three-way stop. 

Using a handheld device while driving can incur a penalty of $615 and up to six demerit points as a reminder from the Peterborough Police.

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Peterborough Police Issue Reminder During Ongoing Heat Warning to Not Leave Pets or Children in The Vehicle

Peterborough Police Service are reminding the community to check on the most vulnerable to heat and to not leave pets or children unattended in vehicles during the ongoing heat warning.

photo by david tuan bui.

A heat warning is in effect for Peterborough with Environment Canada calling for temperatures into 30’s with the humidex in the upper 30’s to 40’s through Wednesday and Thursday.

How you can help:

• Call 9-1-1 if the child or animal is in distress

• Take down the car’s make, model and license plate number and provide that information to the Peterborough Police Service when you call.

• If there is a business nearby, ask a manager or store security to make an announcement to locate the car’s owner.

• Wait by the vehicle until help arrives.

If it is an emergency call 9-1-1.  If it is a non-emergency, you can call Peterborough Police Service at 705-876-1122, or in the case of an animal situation you can also call the Ontario Animal Protection Unit, 1-833-9-ANIMAL (264625).

For more information, visit the link.

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Oshawa Couple's Viral TikTok Shows Stolen Camping Trailer Allegedly Fleeing OPP Pursuit On Hwy. 401 in Northumberland

Oshawa residents Mike Sidey and his girlfriend Elizabeth Williams were driving westbound on Hwy. 401 in Northumberland Sunday morning when they encountered an Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) operation to stop a fleeing truck towing an allegedly stolen camping trailer.

mike sidey and girlfriend elizabeth williams. photo courtesy of mike sidey.

“It was definitely different that’s for sure. It was entertaining, something that you wouldn’t really see unless you were watching it on T.V. or at the movies or something like that,” said Sidey. “It was like Grand Theft Auto in real life.”

On that Sunday morning, he recalls merging onto the 401 from Trenton at the same time as the OPP officer.

“That was at 11:30 a.m. We got on the 401, we merged, (the OPP officer) drove away, no lights, no sirens, no nothing. Just doing his regular, routine patrol.”

About 3 to 5 minutes later, traffic began to slow down. Sidey noticed the officer on the side of the highway.

“I saw the OPP officer sitting on the side of the highway and standing outside his vehicle trying to flag two participants down.”

The participants, two camping trailers in the right lane, were being passed by a tractor trailer in the other lane.

As the trailers passed the officer, Sidey says the officer threw his hands in the air “in disgust.”

“That’s when the back trailer decided to cut over to the left lane, and started driving off. I slowed down and I actually looked at the people in the (vehicle). I tried to get his attention but he wouldn’t even look at us,” said Sidey.

The trailer then began swaying between both the right and left lanes, and Sidey noticed its stairs were still out.

@oneeye17 ♬ original sound - Mike Sidey

“That’s when I started (recording). I had my phone up on my dash recording, then my girlfriend took the phone to record more and put them on TikTok.”

Sidey’s video currently has over 300,000 TikTok views and over 10,000 likes.

The video shows the officer pursuing the truck towing the camping trailer in an attempt to pull the vehicle over. The trailer takes the Big Apple exit off of Hwy. 401 and into Colborne.

That trailer, according to OPP, was allegedly stolen from Northumberland.

“When we got home, around 12:30 p.m., my buddy had sent me a link saying that they were stolen trailers. I was like, what are the odds we got that on video?!”

An Ottawa man, 59, was charged with a number of offences, including flight from a peace officer, possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, two drug charges, operating an unsafe vehicle and driving a motor vehicle while under licence suspension.

The accused was released from custody and is scheduled to appear in court in Belleville on April 24.

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Community Care Peterborough Celebrates International Volunteer Day on Dec. 5

Community Care Peterborough (CCP) is celebrating the impact its volunteers have in the lives of community members through International Volunteer Day (IVD) for Monday.

Selwyn Volunteer Driver Bill Sova goes the extra mile, decorating his vehicle for the holidays to bring extra joy to transportation clients. Photo courtesy of Community Care Peterborough.

Volunteers deliver Meals on Wheels, drop off groceries, drive clients to appointments, call and visit with them, provide well-being check-ins and more. Most rides take place locally and to neighbouring communities, but transportation to medical appointments outside of the County of Peterborough can be arranged.

With volunteer support, clients are able to live independently at home and out of hospitals and long-term care facilities.

“I am continually amazed and impressed by all that they do, and I know that volunteer contributions have huge impacts on the lives of so many,” said Darci Maude, CCP’s volunteer development coordinator. “We thank our volunteers for their continued support.”

Each day, the efforts of over 650 volunteers make it possible for over 6,200 seniors and adults with physical challenges to receive a wide variety of programs and services.

CCP’s clients say that transportation services help them remain independent and connected with the community.

“The transportation services provided are critical to my ability to lead a fairly normal life. Also, I’ve gained new friendships and have been given opportunities to expand my social connections. Transportation services have been so crucial for my psychological health, too,” said a client who receives drives through CCP’s Transportation Program.

To learn more about CCP’s IVD efforts or to get involved, visit the website.

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Peterborough Police Service Release Top 10 Collision Intersections of 2021

With the release of the Peterborough Police Service’s (PPS) annual report of 2021, the top 10 intersections with the most collisions have been listed on Monday.

The intersection of Water Street and Parkhill Road is listed as Peterborough’s seventh highest for collisions. Four intersections on Parkhill Road are within the top 10. Photo by Luke Best.

The following is the top 10 list of collision intersections in Peterborough from most frequent to least:

1. Clonsilla Avenue & The Parkway

2. Monaghan Road & Parkhill Road West

3. Lansdowne Street & The Parkway

4. Parkhill Road West & Reid Street

5. Lansdowne Street & Monaghan Road

6. George Street North & Parkhill Road West

7. Parkhill Road West & Water Street

8. Armour Road & Parkhill Road East

9. Ashburnham Drive & Lansdowne Street East

10. Rubidge Street & Sherbrooke Street

There was a four per cent increase in collisions investigated from 1,800 in 2020 to 1,872 for 2021. There were 61 fewer collisions of damage over $2,000 with 674. Additionally, there were 30 less collisions in damage under $2,000 with 783 compared to 2020.

Pedestrian and cyclist injuries saw an increase from 54 in 2020 (40 pedestrians and 14 cyclists) to 68 last year.

Last year saw a two per cent overall increase in the amount of Highway Traffic Act (HTA) Provincial Offence Notices (PONS) issued according to PPS. This number has fluctuated over the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

PPS is focusing on continuing to implement e-ticketing, training more officers in reconstruction and as motorcycle operators.

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Lansdowne Street Ranked Fifth Worst Road In Eastern Ontario

In CAA’s 2022 survey, Lansdowne Street was voted the fifth worst road to drive on in Eastern Ontario.

Each year CAA asks drivers, cyclists, transit riders and pedestrians to submit and vote for the roads with the worst conditions in Canada, in hopes to bring attention to those roads and encourage improvements.

The survey takes into consideration potholes, congestion, poor road signs and other safety concerns.

This year, Lansdowne Street in Peterborough placed fifth in the Eastern Ontario category. It did not place on the country wide list.

The list of worst roads in Eastern Ontario is as follows:

1. Barker Street, Prince Edward County

2. County Road 49, Prince Edward County

3. Queen Street, Kingston

4. Bridge Street West, Belleville

5. Landsdowne Street, Peterborough

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Ontario To Scrap Licence Plate Sticker Renewal March 13

The Ontario government has announced it is ending licence plate renewal fees and sticker fees by March 13 and will refund the cost of stickers purchased over the past two years.

Photo by David Tuan Bui.

“We are eliminating licence plate renewal fees,” Premier Doug Ford announced Tuesday morning. “And scrapping the requirement to have licence plate sticker for passenger vehicles, light-duty trucks, motorcycles and mopeds.”

Anyone who bought them from March 2020 onwards is eligible for a refund.

“This means over 7.5 million vehicle owners can expect a refund,” Ford said.

To recieve a refund drivers will need to make sure the address on their licence is up to date by March 7 online or by phone with ServiceOntario at 1-888-333-0049.

Any outstanding tickets or fines must be paid for before receiving a refund.

Refunds can be expected by the end of April via cheque.

No refunds will be given for the period of March 2020 to March 2022 for passenger, light-duty commercial vehicles, motorcycles or mopeds owned by a business, the government said.

In Tuesdays announcement Ford said licence plates will still need to be renewed but that it will be free with no sticker required.

This move will cost the province $1.1 billion a year in revenue and comes ahead of the Provincial election set for June.

“We’re just putting that back into your pocket and its about affordability,” Ford said.

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Snow Plow Crews Still Working Around The Clock In Response To Monday's Storm

Snow clearing efforts continue and are progressing well following the significant snow storm in southern Ontario on Jan. 16-17, that dropped about 34 cm of snow on Peterborough.

Photo courtesy of The City of Peterborough.

City snow clearing crews have been working in shifts 24 hours a day since the night of Jan. 16. With the progress made on snow clearing, effective 7 p.m. on Thursday the City lifted the Significant Weather Event designation it put in place on Monday.

The majority of streets, sidewalks, and bus stops were clear by Thursday afternoon; crews continue to revisit some locations that require further clean-up.

“Thank you to residents for your patience and understanding as our community digs out of this big snowfall. A special thank you to everyone who helped a neighbour or community member after the storm. We are lucky to have exemplary Public Works crews that have been out there 24/7 to keep our community going,” Mayor Diane Therrien said. “Some other municipalities had to close facilities and services for several days due to this storm. While work is still happening, we’ve been able to minimize disruption while we either enjoy or curse the huge amount of snow.”

In addition to revisiting some locations of sidewalks and bus stops that need additional clean-up, the snow clearing work continued overnight on Thursday into Friday, with the focus on restoring roadway lane widths where snow banks have narrowed the roadways, removing snow on bridges to restore sidewalk widths, and continued maintenance on other locations such as dead-end streets and cul-de-sacs.

There are other locations, like the downtown, that require additional snow removal and work will continue until those locations are addressed.

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Community Area Speed Limit Project Requires Kawartha Lakes Drivers to Slow Down

The municipality of Kawartha-Lakes has launched a Community Area Speed Limit project to help improve motorist, cyclist and pedestrian safety, this project will see speed limits of 50 km per hour reduced to 40 km per hour.

Photo by david tuan bui.

This project aims to help improve motorist, cyclist and pedestrian safety. It came forward as a result of changes to the Highway Traffic Act which gave Council new options in managing and creating speed zones on municipal roads.

The municipality currently enforces a speed by-law for designated areas within towns, villages, settlement areas and hamlets known as "community speed zones" that have a speed limit of 50km/h. Through the Community Area Speed Limit project, these zones will be reduced down to 40km/h.

The campaign for the project, “40 is the new 50”, aims to educate and spread awareness to communities regarding the new speed limits and the importance of road safety.

Phase one of the project will focus on on rural speed zones and will begin to be implemented in October 2021. This includes Bethany, Burnt River, Coboconk, Kinmount, Kirkfield, Little Britain, Manilla, Norland, Oakwood, Omemee, Pontypool, Janetville, Seagrave, Sonya, Victoria Road and Woodville.

Phase two will focus on urban speed zones and will be implemented in 2022. This includes Bobcaygeon, Fenelon Falls and Lindsay.

Each community, including a map of all roads impacted, are available on the Community Area Speed Limit project page.

Phase one installation will begin in early October and is expected to be complete by the end of the year. As soon as the signs are installed and visible on the road, the new speed limits become enforceable.

Kawartha Lakes Police and OPP have been notified of the impacted areas and will be supporting the project through enforcement and education.

The campaign includes lawn signs that residents can request to help notify other drivers in their area of the changes and also serve as a reminder to slow down in community areas. To request a sign visit the project page and complete the online form.

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Overnight Closure of the Intersection at Parkhill Road and Armour Road

The intersection at Parkhill Road and Armour Road will be temporarily closed overnight to complete surface grinding and paving announced on Monday.

Photo courtesy of the City of Peterborough.

The closure will be from 9:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. from Tuesday to Thursday, depending on weather.

Detour routes posted during this overnight closure are as follows:

Parkhill Road

• Eastbound traffic will detour south on George Street, east on Hunter Street, south on Rogers Street and East on Maria Street.

• Westbound traffic will detour south on Television Road, west on Lansdowne Street, north on Ashburnham and west Maria Street.

Armour Road

• Northbound traffic will detour west on Hunter Street and north on Water Street.

• Southbound traffic will detour west on Nassau Mills Road and south on George Street.

Local traffic will be permitted and access to businesses in the area remains open.

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