Traffic calming measures coming to 4 more Edmonton neighbourhoods

EDMONTON — Speed bumps and detours are the blessing and bane of some residential roads in Edmonton, and now four more neighbourhoods are getting traffic calming measures.

The measures are meant to dissuade drivers from speeding or shortcutting through the neighbourhoods.

The neighbourhoods are: Crestwood in the west end, Ormsby Place in the Callingwood area of west Edmonton, Ottewell in the southeast Capilano area and Newton in the northeast.

Here’s what will happen in each neighbourhood, according to the city’s website:

• Crestwood: Speed humps will be installed on 95th Avenue between 142nd Street and 149th Street, and along 96th Avenue between 142nd Street and 146th Street.
• Newton: Speed humps will be installed along 121st Avenue between 50th Street and 58th Street.  Signal timings at the intersection of 121st Avenue and 50th Street will also be reviewed to discourage shortcutting.
• Ormsby Place: Through traffic will be banned on Ormsby Road East between 69th Avenue and Callingwood Road at 188th Street, except for buses and bicycles. Digital speed feedback signs will be installed.
• Ottewell: Speed bumps will be installed along 94B Avenue between 50th Street and 75th Street. Digital speed feedback signs are already in place. The city will also review signal timings to improve traffic flow on 50th and 75th Streets.

Councillor Michael Oshry, chair of the Transportation Committee, and city staff revealed the details on Tuesday morning. Oshry said traffic was the top concern councillors heard from residents during the municipal election.

“Well there’s two issues. One is traffic volume. So we’re ending up with a lot of traffic on neighbourhood roads that were not designed for that number of traffic. The second is speeding. So people are shortcutting, they’re typically trying to get somewhere quicker and so they’re typically speeding.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Well there's two issues. One is traffic volume. So we're ending up with a lot of traffic on neighbourhood roads that were not designed for that number of traffic. The second is speeding. So people are shortcutting, they're typically trying to get somewhere quicker and so they're typically speeding."

“Traffic that should be going on arterial roads is going on streets like this,” he said while standing beside a residential road near a school in Ottewell.

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The city began putting the measures in place last week and expects to have all of them installed by mid-October. Feedback will be gathered from neighbourhood residents to evaluate the project.

“It’s not an exact science and these are pilots, but we are hopeful that they will make a positive difference,” added Oshry.

Back in the summer the city made traffic changes two other residential neighbourhoods to stop drivers from speeding and taking short cuts. The pilot projects were set up in the Prince Charles area in the northwest, and the Pleasantview community on the southside.

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The change is a two-year project that was requested by a number of residents in the area, but has also prompted a flood of complaints to the city.

The idea is to keep drivers on main thoroughfares instead of using residential roads, however some homeowners said the traffic-calming designs actually created more chaos.

In Pleasantview, 106th Street between 53rd and 56th Avenues is now one way, closing access to northbound traffic. Upset residents said that just forced confused drivers into side streets. Some residents along 105th Street even began sitting beside it every afternoon, counting how many vehicles now use it. Other residents feel more time is needed for drivers to become used to the changes.

READ MORE: ‘It’s a nightmare’: Pleasantview residents continue to oppose traffic changes

In Prince Charles, barriers went up at the beginning of July, cutting off access to and from the Yellowhead on 124th Street. Confused drivers were seen making U-turns once they got to the blockade. In fact, the city had to put up traffic barriers across a hill next to the street to stop motorists from driving over the grass to get through.

WATCH: Two traffic pilot projects have been put in place in two residential communities to stop speeding, but some homeowners say they’re causing more chaos. Kendra Slugoski reports.

The city would like to keep the Pleasantview and Prince Charles barriers in place for at least a year. Oshry knows the new measures will receive mixed reviews from residents, but said it’s the reality of Edmonton’s population boom.

“At the end of the day, the city is getting bigger and we’re growing fast, and people have to get used to the fact that there’s going to be traffic in their neighbourhoods, however we do have to make sure that the majority of it stays on arterial roads.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "At the end of the day, the city is getting bigger and we're growing fast, and people have to get used to the fact that there's going to be traffic in their neighbourhoods, however we do have to make sure that the majority of it stays on arterial roads."

With files from Emily Mertz and Kendra Slugoski, Global News