Safer, Slower, and Steadfast in Small ON Town

East Gwillimbury, ON

A small Canadian Town addresses speed concerns with radar signs that get them results.

The Challenge

East Gwillimbury is a small town on the East Holland River and is part of the greater Toronto area of Ontario. With a population just under 35,000, East Gwillimbury is home to a variety of ethnicities, a popular park, and many local schools.

Local speed limits are generally 40km/h except for rural roads which are 60 and 70 km/h. However, residents often see cars driving far faster, and were concerned for the safety of their families and pets. They were requesting intervention from the town to slow speeders down. The town needed a solution to enhance road safety that would meet budget constraints and be suitable for use on small town roads.

The Solution

East Gwillimbury is a steadfast customer of Traffic Logix and has been using their solutions to address speeding challenges for 15 years. So when they had new speeding concerns, they knew just where to turn. With the help of one of the company’s traffic safety experts, they chose the SafePace Evolution 12 signs. The compact signs have MUTCD approved 12” digits and are a lightweight, portable choice ideal for local roads. The smaller size sign offered the affordability the town needed with features like flashing, multi-color digits that would alert drivers to slow down.

The town purchased six of the SafePace Evolution 12 signs with accompanying Cloud access. They are rotating the signs to different locations based on resident concerns or council requests. Cloud access gives them detailed traffic data and reports they can access right from their desks. They use the Cloud to stay informed on sign performance, to see if they are making a difference, and to help in making educated decisions about how to best use the signs to protect residents and keep streets safe.

The Benefits

Jamal Massadeh, P.Eng, the Senior Traffic and Transportation Technologist in East Gwillimbury, noted that the signs have been changing the way people drive on the town’s streets. They collect before and after data and have found a significant reduction in both average and 85^th percentile speeds.

“As drivers see their speed and notice the flashing lights, they automatically adjust their driving behavior,” commented Mr. Massadeh. “Traffic Logix is a great company to work with. They’re very professional and always available when we need tech support. I’ve been working with them for 15 years now and that high level of customer service has not waned.”

When asked how local residents felt about the signs, Mr. Massadeh was optimistic, “all the feedback we’ve gotten has been positive,” he commented. “And we see Traffic Logix products everywhere we go in Ontario. To me, that speaks volumes about the quality and efficiency that the company offers.”