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Letter: Traffic cone shows traffic calming effectiveness

Speed bumps will make a difference to dangerous Granite Street speeding
31756oakbayLetter-GraniteStreet
The letter writer suggests that if a single traffic cone can help slow traffic on Granite Street

I snapped a photo of a single orange safety cone placed on Granite Street in the past week.

I am not sure who set it there near Oak Bay United Church, but I decided to watch traffic in the area where the cone was situated to see if there was an impact on traffic.

Many have stated that speeders are a big problem in Oak Bay, and Granite Street is among the worst.

I was surprised to observe that even a small device like a single $10 orange cone placed in the middle of the street could have such an effect on traffic speeds.

I estimate the average speed on Granite Street daily is 60 km/h. I also noted that out of 200 vehicles I observed, every vehicle reduced speed when approaching the cone.

Granted this somewhat of a low-grade experiment, but isn’t that interesting?

Beyond all the debate in council and cost for assessments and reports, it is obvious that traffic calming is imperative on Granite Street and indeed all of Oak Bay, as stated clearly by letter writers Agar, Flack, Smeltzer and others.

Especially embarrassing it is to compare the lack of action in Oak Bay to a real effort in other municipalities toward modern traffic management and standards of safety.

I believe speed bumps along Granite Street  would be a great first step in slowing the constant traffic routed through that roadway.

If anyone would like to know what a speed bump looks like, you don’t need to travel to Victoria or Saanich to observe one. You need only take a look at the two beautiful and rare examples located in the parking lot of the Oak Bay municipal offices.

Brian Davis

Oak Bay