A road notorious for vehicles travelling at excessive speeds in Lantzville, could soon see its speed limit reduced.
The District of Lantzville is considering lowering the speed limit along Dickenson Road from 50 km/h to 30 km/h and is seeking input from the public on the idea.
Concerns have been around for years regarding vehicle speeds, which often travel well above 50 km/h along the Lantzville portion of Dickenson Road, a 1.5-kilometre stretch where there are no sidewalks, stoplights or stop signs of any kind.
The idea to lower the speed limit along Dickenson Road — a stretch of road that has been described by councillors and residents as a raceway and likened to a Nascar track — has been kicked around for years but has really picked up steam recently as councillors consider various other improvements to the road.
During a district community safety committee meeting last month, where the idea of seeking public feedback on a proposed 30 km/h speed limit for Dickenson Road was discussed, councillors expressed concerns about the amount of speeding along that stretch of roadway.
“I find that speeding is just so above the speed limit. Where the speed limit is 50, it is quite common to see 70, 80 and 90 km/h coming down the hill into the village,” said Coun. Ian Savage, adding. “I think it is important that something is done before someone is seriously hurt.”
“Everyone in Lantzville knows there is a speeding problem on Dickenson Road and everybody would like to see it fixed,” said Coun. Karen Proctor said.
Coun. Jamie Wilson called the stretch of road the “speedway by the seaside” while Mayor Mark Swain said he sees people speeding on Dickeson Road all the time and while it may not be 40 km/h over the limit, it’s still frequent enough that is concerning to him.
“I see it first hand where I live, I don’t need a radar gun, I can just use my car to gauge the speed of individuals going up and down Dickenson Road,” said Swain. “It still remains to be a pretty big concern here within the District of Lantzville and while we may not have the excessive speeding … plus 40 km/h, we still have people travelling well over the speed limit and again I see it first hand on a daily basis.”
Savage, during that same meeting, suggested that one of the reasons the speed limit be lowered to 30 km/h is that those who do speed will be more likely to hit 50 km/h but won’t be as keen on going 90 km/h — resulting in vehicle impoundment if caught by RCMP.
“If it’s lowered to 30 km/h then the result is that finally, maybe, they’re going about 50 km/h,” he said.
Residents have until 4 p.m. on Oct. 18 to provide feedback to the District of Lantzville and can do so by e-mailing [email protected]. The district says submissions will become part of the public record.
Nicholas Pescod
