West Island communities struggling to pump the brakes on speeding

West Island municipalities are urging drivers to slow down as multiple speeding campaigns have begun popping up across local streets.

Signs showing the face of a young child line Jasper Road in Beaconsfield read, “Why are you driving so fast?”

Residents demanded the city install them on their front lawns after cases of excessive speeding, even street racing, were reported.

“It’s what kind of pushed me over the edge,” Suann Wong, resident of Jasper, said.

Wong says she saw two black sports cars fly by on the residential road, going far over the 40-kilometre speed limit.

“We have a speeding problem here,” Wong said.

Residents say stories of reckless speed are all too common on Jasper. Ashleigh Manktelow says her two young girls can only ride their bikes on the street during the early morning when it’s safe.

“I physically stand in the street when my kids are playing because people will see me before they see them,” Manktelow said.

Manktelow says she watches her children like a hawk, making sure they don’t go near the street, fearing a driver zipping by.

“There is just too great a risk. We can’t let them go close to the street, which is a shame in a wonderful neighbourhood,” Manktelow said.

Jasper Road is a popular street for local drivers as it borders Pointe-Claire and cuts through Beaconsfield, connecting Beaurepaire Boulevard with Lakeshore Drive.

The city has installed traffic calming measures in the past, with two speed bumps along the stretch of road.

“The speed bumps are a bit of a joke,” Manktelow said.

Robert Kirkpatrick, who has lived on the street for 44 years, says drivers don’t respect the speed bumps because they are so insignificant.

“The speed bumps are really just something to launch off of. They aren’t aggressive, they don’t slow you down. They don’t do anything,” Kirkpatrick said.

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Surrounded by residents on Friday morning, Beaconsfield Mayor Georges Bourelle agrees, saying, “That is something to look at.”

Despite hearing multiple accounts, Bourelle was reluctant to say speeding was an issue on the street.

“Is it perceived or it is actual? Our studies show most of the people do respect the limit but a small percentage exceed it all the time,” Bourelle said.

Residents are calling for concrete speed mitigation measures such as radars and better speed bumps.

Bourelle said the city will look into the situation on Jasper.

“We have a process and we will make sure we do the right things.”

The city’s traffic committee will be formulating a new traffic study for the street. The results will determine how the city will react, Bourelle said.

The city could not give a date when the study would begin.

Increased police presence is something Bourelle said he will consider in the area.

“I’d like action taken,” Wong said.

Speeding has been a top issue on the West Island.

The City of Dorval recently launched a new road safety campaign to get drivers to slow down.

The road signs are aimed at increasing road safety by reminding people of the new speed limits and encouraging users to be alert on the roads.

In May, Dorval reduced the speed on its residential roads from 40 to 30 kilometres an hour “to increase road safety on its territory,” a statement reads.

Speeding and traffic violations are the biggest concern and complaints in Pointe-Claire, according to Mayor John Belvedere.

The city has also launched its own road safety campaign.

Sixty personalized signs have been given out in the six districts. Another 250 have been reserved.

The city is going a step further, working hand in hand with the SPVM.

Several special operations targeting speeding and traffic violations in the city have been underway.

In the month of June, the last ticketing blitz managed to nab 29 drivers in the span of two hours.

The city will also by conducting a traffic study this summer across its territory.

Electronic speed radar signs will be positioned on a rotation in 66 locations throughout Pointe-Claire for a 22-week period.

The goal is to measure when traffic calming measures work best in the area.