‘We want speed bumps’: Plateau residents push for road safety measures amid delays

A group of residents in the Plateau-Mont-Royal is calling for more traffic-calming measures on their busy street after the borough postponed a speed bump installation project.

After two years of petitioning for speed bumps on St-Dominique Street, residents say they remain concerned for their children’s safety. They claim the street is dangerous and they want road safety measures to curb speeders in the area.

“There is so many children on this street and it’s very dangerous with high speeds, plus there is heavy trucks on this route,” said Sarah Watson.

St-Dominique is also used as a shortcut when St-Laurent Boulevard — an artery that runs north-south through the city — becomes choked with traffic, according to residents.

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Officials with the borough told Global News they had to postpone installing speed bumps due to unforeseen complications. As a temporary mitigation measure, the borough has installed electronic speed signs along the street — but Watson claims they have done little to curb speeding in the area.

“It’s not effective,” she said. “It just tells people their speed and no one sees it. No one looks at it.”

Alex Norris, the interim mayor for the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough, says the delay comes because a city project to replace underground lead pipes was cancelled.

Speed bumps were only going to be installed once the work was finished the street was repaved.

“It wouldn’t have made sense to put speed bumps in before that contract was done,” he said.

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Since the contract for the work has also been pushed back, Norris said the borough plans to place speed bumps on St-Dominique starting this fall or by spring 2020 at the latest.

“This street, with the amount of traffic it gets being a residential street, it certainly merits them,” he said, adding that residents deserve the traffic-calming measure sooner rather than later.

However, residents argue they have been calling for changes for a long time and they are exasperated by the delays. With frustration mounting, Nancy Guérin said they are at the point where they are considering installing speed bumps themselves before anyone gets hurts.

“We don’t want any more answers, meetings or emails,” she said. “We want speed bumps.”

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— With files from Global News’ Brayden Jagger Haines