Coun. Randy Jorgensen hopes Gravenhurst’s latest attempt at slowing drivers down on Doe Lake Rd. doesn’t end with the speed sign getting “removed with a chainsaw.”
Gravenhurst council agreed during its Sept. 19 meeting to request the District of Muskoka to see if it makes sense to install an electronic speed sign heading east on Doe Lake Rd. before you hit the “V” part of the road near Housey’s Rapids Rd.
In Aug. 2022, the Town of Gravenhurst reached out to the public in hopes they could help find who was behind the damage to the previous electronic speed sign in the area.
“It was removed with a chainsaw never to be seen again,” said Jorgenson to gasps from his council colleagues.
Mayor Heidi Lorenz shared community members have reached out to her and Jorgenson in hopes of getting speed enforcement in the area.
Coun. Sandy Cairns asked if it’s possible for the signs to issue tickets. She said the one along Bethune Dr. N. coming into town is great at pushing drivers to slow down as they come off of Hwy. 11 but suggested converting the signs to issue tickets would be even more of a deterrent.
However, Andrew Stacey, Director of Infrastructure, said it’s not possible to convert the signs the town currently uses. He explained the ones they currently use collect data, which the town uses and also shared with the Ontario Provincial Police.
“I know they work,” said Cairns. “I just certainly hope this one doesn’t disappear and it does some good.”
