Motorists continue to speed through School Zones, placing students, parents, and teachers at risk, according to Ted Warman, Community Engagement Officer with the Huntsville OPP.
Warman approached the District of Muskoka in January, requesting that the municipality consider adding Community Safety Zones to all the School Zones on its roads. Warman explained while School Zones are meant to alert motorists that there are children present, the fines for speeding in Community Safety Zones double.
He said because many of the schools in Muskoka are on District roads, it’s a good place to start. Schools on roads that belong to the lower-tier municipalities in Muskoka can do the same, similar to what the Township of Lake of Bays recently did in Dwight.
Warman said officers pick a school every morning and park close by to deter motorists from speeding. “Generally, it’s a deterrence to let people know we’re in the area: there’s a reason for that, there’s a school.”
He said the Community Safety Zone designation is meant to draw a lot more attention. He’s hoping the risk of higher fines will help deter people and make the areas safer.
As of March 2025, all School Zones on District roads are now also designated as Community Safety Zones.
This change strengthens the tools available to the OPP, who regularly patrol these areas, by allowing for increased penalties under the Highway Traffic Act, including doubled fines for speeding.
Key changes include:
- Streamlined legislation: Seventeen separate by-laws (nine for School Zones and eight for Community Safety Zones) have been merged into two comprehensive by-laws.
- Automatic designation: Any newly established School Zone will automatically be recognized as a Community Safety Zone.
- OPP enforcement: Higher penalties in these zones are expected to deter unsafe driving and better protect all members of the public, including school-age children.
A School Zone is a stretch of roadway identified under provincial legislation, often marked by flashing amber lights, crossing guards, speed signs, and high-visibility pavement markings. These features are designed to reduce risks for students, pedestrians and cyclists.
“By aligning all School Zones with Community Safety Zone designations, we’re making our roads safer for children and families,” said Mark Misko, Director, Engineering and Transportation. “This partnership with the OPP helps strengthen local enforcement while simplifying the by-law framework.”
New signage is being installed across Muskoka to reflect the updated designations.
For more details, including a list of designated locations, refer to Engineering and Public Works Report PW-3-2025-4.
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Officer Warman is to be commended for his efforts to improve community safety. However, for school zones, this does not go far enough. In the interests of Ontario and the people of Ontario, the school zone lights ought to be bigger and brighter. LED traffic lights are everywhere now and except when the sun is interfering, they are much easier to read. Vehicle headlights are much brighter now making school zone lights more difficult to see. All new railway crossing signal lights are bigger and brighter. I drive through three school zones to drive across Huntsville and I am never sure if I am in a school zone or not. Let us move forward and increase the size and brightness of our school zone warning lights, province wide.
On a different matter related to school zones, the school zone in front of Huntsville High School is in the wrong place. At this location, the students are mostly on the other side of the building. To access Conroy Park, the kids walk from the south Park Drive entrance to Town Line Road along Brunel Road where there is no school zone. Also, every day at lunch time, they walk downtown from the north Park Drive entrance along Brunel Road, again where there is no school zone. If two school zones for one school is too difficult, then I propose extending the existing school zone from Town Line Road all the way to Main Street.