Essex council wants more information before a decision is made to raise the speed limit on the 3rd Concession and the 4th Concession.
Council met Tuesday evening where the report recommended increasing the speed limit on both roads from 60 km/h to 80 km/h.
On the 3rd Concession the limit change would be from County Road 11 (Queen Street) to 100 meters west of Drummond Road, and the increase on the 4th Concession would be from County Road 11 to County Road 23.
In the 2024 Speed Monitoring Program, it showed that the 85th percentile speed exceeded the posted speed limit of 60 km/h. On average, this speed was recorded at 82 km/h. The 85th percentile speed represents the speed at which 85 per cent of drivers travel comfortably.
During the meeting, majority of council stated they wanted further review of different sections of both roads to ensure they have all the data needed before making a decision to change the speed limit. A motion to postpone the decision was approved by council.
Councillor Katie McGuire-Blais says council wants to ensure residents are safe.
"Residents are wanting to make sure is it going to be safe for walkers? Is the road good enough? Is the road wide enough? Can the road sustain it? So that's the push back that council is getting."
Councillor Joe Garon says he wants more information surrounding the safety of the roads.
"We already know the driving patterns of the driver, but tell us that there's been numerous accidents, there's been injuries maybe, there's been something that says to us it shouldn't be increased to 80 because it's going to impose a safety concern. That's the real data I'm looking for."
Mayor Sherry Bondy says people prefer the 3rd and 4th Concessions over the 5th Concession.
"Between the 3rd and the 4th, the 5th [Concession] is very different from the 3rd and the 4th. The 3rd and the 4th you're thinking 'how fast can I get basically from Harrow to Kingsville?'. So the 5th is windy, it's not anything I would really take."
Administration states that if council is still not pleased with the report that comes back, that council may need to put funding forward to hire a Traffic Consultant to review the roads.
Concession Road 4 had a speed limit of 80 km/h until October 2015, when it was lowered to 60 km/h due to concerns about wildlife, without a traffic study.
An updated report will be presented to council at a later date.