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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Government of Canada Contributes To Flood Mitigation Projects In Kawartha Lakes

Flooding is Canada’s costliest and most frequent natural disaster. As such, on Wednesday (May 15th), MP Maryam Monsef announced more than $100,150 in federal funding to the Province of Ontario to support work on two projects under the National Disaster Mitigation Program to better plan for and protect against the effects of flooding.

Kawartha Conservation is leading delivery of these two projects that will contribute to updating and establishing floodplain mapping in the Fenelon Falls South and McLaren’s Creek areas. The maps will help protect these communities from flooding events and will guide future land use decisions. As well, the City of Kawartha Lakes has contributed $87,086 for these projects.

photo courtesy Government of Canada

“Canadians are increasingly experiencing the costly effects of climate change through extreme weather events,” says Monsef.

“We need to act purposefully and responsibly to prepare our communities with the supports needed to mitigate this damage. Investing in climate resilience infrastructure is part of our climate plan and part of our plan to grow our economy. Today’s announcement will provide Kawartha Conservation with some of the tools required to protect communities in our region from flooding.”

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