In the new Municipality of Central Elgin Traffic Calming Policy that was developed by Central Elgin staff as written would seem to indicate that staff did a very thorough job at showing the advantages and the disadvantages of many types of Traffic Calming Measures. But I think that they forgot one of those types of Traffic Calming Measures that we see so very often on our streets of Port Stanley.

In the very first statement in the background of the new Central Elgin Traffic Calming Policy it states that: "The Municipality of Central Elgin is responsible for ensuring its roadways and pedestrian facilities are safe for all users including motorists, cyclists and pedestrians including those with accessibility needs." I find that this bold statement should not have been included with any mention of pedestrian facilities, as anyone in Port would surely agree that when it comes to certain parts of Port Stanley any type of pedestrian facilities are either only partially available or just not available at all.

Because of this shortage of pedestrian facilities people end up on the road walking in any direction most of the time in front of traffic. Even in the areas with some kind of pedestrian facilities, people use the road because the pedestrian facilities are either being used for signs, extra seating, parking, being blocked, or just too congested.

Even though this method of people walking on the road seems to be an effective method for reducing speeding vehicles I fear that this type of Traffic Calming Measure is not the best type to use if pedestrian safety is considered, and is just an indication that more effort has to be done to include space for pedestrian facilities in any type of new or existing road network.