Dear Editor,
It is with great frustration that I write this letter regarding traffic issues in Okotoks.
The Town reduced the speed limit last fall, put up new signs, educated the public, and then promised enforcement of the new bylaw. The Westridge and Westmount areas have had a 40 km/h speed limit since we moved here four years ago and we are still waiting for enforcement.
The traffic has increased due to the Westmount school and people haven’t reduced their speeds one iota.
We voiced our concerns to the town last summer and I presume other people in Okotoks must have complained about speeders and hence the need for the bylaw.
We were surprised to hear, in February, that the town was pleased with the results of lowering the speed limit.
Westfall drive and Westridge drives have become speedways.
To add insult to injury, a good number of the vehicles that travel these roads have some type of modification to the exhausts/mufflers and we can hear them coming for blocks.
The noisy diesel trucks and the modified import cars are the worst. The folks dropping their kids off at the school are in a permanent “rush mode”.
There is a quality of life issue here as well because these noisy vehicles fly up and down these roads day and night.
Since sending another letter to the town in March, we have seen law enforcement out once.
An RCMP officer was on our street for about five minutes, caught a speeder, gave out a ticket and then left the area.
We assumed that enforcement meant that they would come to the area on a regular basis and monitor the situation.
The speeding continues day and night. The town has not done their due diligence by making a bylaw and putting up signs.
If there is no enforcement of that bylaw then it is just words on paper and means nothing.
We don’t need expensive traffic calming measures either, just enforcement on a regular basis might get the message across.
There are children walking these streets to and from school and others riding bikes on the roads and safety is a big issue here.
Other towns and cities are watching how this reduction is working in Okotoks so we better do it right.
The speeding must be stopped before there is a serious accident.
J. Landage
Okotoks
