A pilot program to calm speeding traffic in Richmond will see two signs popping up where drivers can’t, and shouldn’t, miss them — right in the middle of the road.
The City of Richmond has teamed up with local resident Ken Thibault, who is the B.C. distributor for a Montreal-based technology solution company, which has made the road signs already being widely used in Eastern Canada and the U.S.
Yesterday, the two four-foot high, one-foot wide warning signs — telling drivers to slow down in a school zone — were erected in the centre of the road at crosswalks on Tweedsmuir Avenue, outside Maple Lane elementary in south Richmond.
The signs are specially designed to completely bend over and then spring back should they be clipped or, at worst, run over by an errant or worryingly inattentive driver.
City spokesperson Ted Townsend said the plan is to see how the signs work out, probably over the span of an entire school year, before looking at erecting more across similar danger spots in Richmond.
“They’re designed to primarily address speeding issues in school zones,” said Townsend, noting that the signs are seasonal and can be easily removed and replaced depending on school vacation periods.
“Maple Lane especially has had issues with this and that’s why we’re trying out the signage there.
“We consulted with the fire department, the RCMP and the school district and all were supportive.”
Townsend said the centre-of-the-road signage has been very effective in Eastern Canada, in particular Ottawa and Montreal.
It was in Montreal a year ago, while visiting a relative, that Thibault spotted the signs, found out who made them, Develotech, and then approached that company with a view to bringing them to B.C.
“I was flabbergasted how simple and effective these signs were,” said Thibault.
“I spoke to the people behind this in Montreal and they were saying that speed bumps just weren’t working. So, when I returned here, I approached our city and they started looking into it.
“I would to see them installed at dangerous crosswalks across the city. I think Richmond needs them for sure.”
Thibault said the likes of fire trucks and larger vehicles can run right over the signs and neither the vehicle or the sign will be worse off.
“They’re designed to be run over by a wheel at 80 kilometres and pop back up,” added Thibault.
However, Peter Irving, one of the residents living right at the corner where the signs are being installed, was more skeptical whether vehicles escape unscathed if they run over the new signs.
“The concept is good but I would prefer to see how it works first; I’d like to see what it does if someone runs over it,” said Irving.
“I’d like to see how it stands up to being hit by a garbage truck and school bus every day, because that’s what’s going to happen.
“Police officers have told me that people who speed, will speed no matter what.”
Fellow resident Kevin Hayka said he was happy to see the signs going up rather than the speed bumps which were first suggested by the city to quell the speeding issue.
“It’s the parents going to and from the school that are the problem and it’s been going on for years,” said Hayka.
“Speed bumps just cause extra noise from people slowing down and speeding up. But this is a decent idea, it’s very visible.”
The City of Ottawa installed the signs more than a year ago, while Montreal has had them for longer.
Both cities have reported the project to be a great success.
