A proposed new traffic bylaw in Estevan will result in higher fines for parking violations, changes to the city’s truck route and lower speed limits in back alleys.
Estevan city council gave first reading to the traffic bylaw at their meeting on Monday night. Police Chief Paul Ladouceur said the bylaw should streamline processes while bringing forward a few changes.
“It makes it easier to flow and easier to read for members of the public and members of the police for that matter,” Ladouceur told the Mercury in an interview. “A lot of it was cleaning up language, cleaning up of sections and re-establishing certain things.”
Perhaps the biggest change for the public will be the parking fines. Ladouceur believes some of the fines are quite outdated.
“A parking ticket in Estevan was, on average, $20, and $10 if you paid it early,” he said. “Looking at that, it’s cheaper to pay for a parking ticket in Estevan, than it is to pay for legal parking in Regina.”
He believes a visitor to the community might think it’s easier to park illegally, and pay the $10 fine within 14 days, than it is to park legally.
“We’re not saying that the fines will be extremely high, like some of the cities or larger centres, but there has to be enough of a deterrent to make somebody want to abide by the no parking signs in our community,” said the police chief.
“People often get concerned or upset because there’s an increase in the fine, or they think ‘This is ridiculous,’ and there’s a simple solution…don’t park illegally. Problem solved.”
The most common ticket handed out is for motorists who park too long. It will increase to $45, but it will be reduced to $30 if paid within in 14 days.
The fines for most infractions will increase from $40 to $80. If paid within 14 days, the fine will be $50.
“We’re way behind when we compare ourselves to other municipalities when it comes to parking … fines, and quite frankly we’re constantly receiving parking complaints,” said Ladouceur.
The fines are now competitive with other small cities in the province, he said, and the fines in Regina are still a lot higher than in Estevan.
He understands finding a parking spot can be challenging, particularly in the downtown core, but Ladouceur also believes people shouldn’t be able to occupy a parking spot for eight hours.
The parking bylaw will also create changes to the truck route. Some of the industrial subdivisions were listed as being on the truck route. Ladouceur viewed it as redundant.
“If a truck is going to its place of employment, or making a delivery, they’re legally entitled to go off the truck route to get there anyway,” said Ladouceur.
But he understands that truck routes are an ongoing issue in the city, even after the truck bypass north of the city opened last November.
Trucks will continue to drive down Fourth Street, with the exception of a few blocks when they will be diverted to 14th Avenue, Sixth Street and Souris Avenue South.
“It is the intent to continue, through the traffic control committee, to look at better options for truck routes as we move forward, but we have to look at all kinds of things when we do that.”
Perkins Street will also remain part of the truck route. Heavy trucks often use Perkins as a way to travel between Fourth Street and Souris Avenue South.
Ladouceur noted they did consider removing Perkins as a possible option for heavy trucks, since it is a residential area and the road is in deteriorating condition, but ultimately opted for the status quo.
They also considered prohibiting trucks from using Fourth Street between Kensington Avenue and Souris Avenue South, but the current state of Sixth Street east of Souris Avenue South is a problem.
“I don’t know how it would handle additional heavy trucks every day with the state it’s currently in,” said Ladouceur.
The fine for driving off of the designated truck routes will increase from $150 to $500. Ladouceur believes the number of trucks not using the designated routes is a problem in the community.
“Our roads are certainly in a state of disrepair, and we want to be able to, as a community, send a strong message to people operating transport trucks through the city to remain on the truck routes,” said Ladouceur.
The chief expects the higher fines will serve as a deterrent to trucks that want to avoid the truck routes.
“We’ve received a lot of calls from the public that there are still trucks within the city,” said Ladouceur. “I think common sense says there are always going to be trucks within the city. Groceries have to get to the grocery stores, furniture gets to the furniture shops.”
While there are some trucks that still need to come into the city, he has noticed a decrease in the number of trucks passing through the city.
The speed limits on Estevan’s streets and avenues will not be changing as part of the bylaw. Speed limits will remain at 50 kilometres per hour (km/h) in most of the city, except in school zones, which will be 30 km/h.
The biggest speed limit change will be in back alleys, which will be reduced from 30 to 20 km/h.
“It’s almost impossible at this point to realistically drive 30 kilometres per hour down a gravel alley way,” said Ladouceur.
There will be a phase-in period for the back alley speed limits in which violators will be given a warning.
The new traffic bylaw will also create some efficiencies. For example, council currently has to pass a new bylaw to add a new stop sign or a yield sign at an intersection. Ladouceur views the process as “cumbersome,” and hopes the new traffic bylaw will accelerate the process to add signage.
Council will need to approve second and third readings of the bylaw for it to be approved. The bylaw is slated to be on council’s agenda for the April 25 meeting.
