It’s been a year and four months since St. Adolphe resident Dee Dee Budgell made her first plea to council to reduce the speed limit in Tourond Creek from 50 to 30 kilometres per hour.
At their January 3 public meeting, council finally took the matter to a vote. Responding to results of an RM survey sent out to residents of the Tourond Creek development, council voted four to one in favour of reducing the speed in the community’s most southerly development. Mayor Chris Ewen was the only one not in favour.
The speed limit survey was mailed to 112 property owners in Tourond Creek in late 2023. Twenty-two surveys were filled out and returned to the RM office. Nine of the 22 respondents were not in favour of a speed reduction along the development’s streets.
“I was kind of hoping that more surveys would come back,” Councillor Jason Bodnarchuk told council prior to the vote. “It’s a very small amount that did the survey, so that’s tough. If this doesn’t get approved, I think we need to look at further solutions of how to address the speed [concerns].”
Councillors Janine Boulanger and Joel Lemoine concurred with Budgell’s assessment, citing that 50 kph felt like a high speed in some areas where street parking and pedestrian traffic were abundant at times.
“At some point and time, we’ll look at putting up 30 [kph] signs or somehow communicating that to the area,” CAO Mitch Duval told council following the vote.
Budgell first brought the matter to council in September 2022. She came bearing a petition with signatures from 64 Tourond Creek residents, all in favour of a speed reduction.
One month later, council underwent an election and Bodnarchuk was elected in the St. Adolphe ward. Budgell says that he gave her a listening ear from the start and even attended a neighbourhood meeting she held.
Still, change was slow in coming. In November 2023, Budgell made another plea to council for a speed limit change, once again citing the safety of the development’s children, especially in light of frequent construction traffic.
Council responded by sending out a survey. In late 2023, a two-vehicle collision in the development occurred. One vehicle had to be written off.
For Budgell, council’s action this month was great news on which to open the new year.
“It took forever, but I am glad at the end of the day we have our request honoured,” says Budgell. “It was frustrating and I’ve learned that sometimes they just hope you go away. I won’t. I will always be respectful but won’t give up if it’s the right thing to do.”
Like Bodnarchuk, Budgell was surprised at the poor response to the RM survey.
“It was so close to Christmas that I’m sure many put it aside and just forgot,” Budgell says. “The reason for the reduction is for the safety of the community. The community consists of young families. And with so many children darting about, it’s dangerous. Also, now with the new daycare, it’s our responsibility to ensure the safety of the families, especially those with little ones.”
