‘Tis the season for construction work in Calgary and surrounding areas.
As more zones pop up, so do detours, speed reductions, four-way stops and photo radar.
Calgary fine numbers
From January to May 2019, Calgary police fined more than 8,860 drivers speeding in construction zones. With workers present in those zones, 3,764 drivers were fined. Eighteen people sped past emergency vehicles.
Airdrie reminds drivers to slow down
If you speed through a construction zone, the fine doubles.
RCMP are reminding the public that traffic flow might shift as construction ramps up. Hare said she has seen a lot of near-misses and advises drivers to always be aware of their surroundings, especially because changes can be frequent.
Hare said since it’s summer, calls from concerned citizens usually spike.
“Every year when these construction zones are put up, we do see a higher volume of concerns from the public about speeding or maybe not obeying those traffic control devices, such as the four-way stops or the workers holding up stops signs to direct traffic,” she said.
Construction workers have to capitalize on the short amount of sunny weather to get things done.
“It’s summer in the city and we only have 100 days that we can work in this country, so we have to get on it and be as efficient as we can,” said Glenn Archer, team lead at Capital Projects and Infrastructure at the City of Airdrie.
Signs are there for a reason, he said.
“If you do nothing else but slow down, you have the ability to see and react better,” Archer said.
– With files from Global News’ Lisa MacGregor
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