Hamilton police say ‘aggressive driving’ the target of their long weekend blitz

Hamilton Police say they will be cracking down on aggressive drivers and speeding during the long weekend.

Traffic services sent out a reminder to drivers Friday morning saying their August long-weekend enforcement program will mean an increase in monitoring near “areas of concern” as well as reminders to drivers during “professional traffic stops” about “the basic rules of the road.”

READ MORE: 40 km/hr speed limit coming to all neighbourhood streets in Hamilton

This long-weekend blitz is part of the city’s Strategic Road Safety Program which was rolled out in February in conjunction with the Vision Zero Action plan. The city has a goal of zero traffic deaths and zero severe injuries. Council increased funding for the two programs to the tune of $1.7 million dollars in early 2019.

That decision came after a Hamilton public works report in February pinpointed “areas of concern,” including the intersections of King Street and Dundurn Street, Main Street and Kenilworth Avenue, as well as Cannon Street and Wellington street, which recorded the highest number of collisions in the city between 2013 and 2017.

City streets average about 8,000 collisions each year, according to the report — and that number has been on the rise.

READ MORE: Where are the most dangerous intersections in Hamilton?

In July, the city started tackling speed problems in residential neighbourhoods through lower speed limits, agreeing to lower limits to 40 kilometres per hour over the next three years. Public works estimated the entire project would cost about $2.5 million.