The Township of Lake of Bays is asking the District of Muskoka to consider reducing the posted speed limit on a section of Hwy. 117.
Deputy Mayor Bob Lacroix brought the issue up at the Township’s May 10 meeting. He said he’d been approached by Baysville community members who live along Hwy. 117 essentially asking that the 60 km/hr zone from the Baysville community limits be extended to Seventeen Acres Road.
“That section of road heading out of town, going up the hill as you leave Baysville towards Bracebridge, there’s a section of road there where it turns from 60 to 80 and it’s going up a hill so people who try to pass are going extremely fast trying to get by anybody that’s just building up their speed. And the problem is when you’re coming eastbound from the Bracebridge area there’s a crest to the hill and if people are typically doing 90 or 100 coming in—as you can see there’s one lane coming down and one lane going up — and there’s a potential for accidents,” he said.
He said residents are asking whether the 60 km/hr zone which turns into an 80 km/hr zone could be extended 400 or 500 metres further to try to mitigate excessive speeding.
Lacroix said he contacted District staff who said they would look into it but would first require a resolution from council to proceed. “What they have told me is what would happen is once they get the resolution from the Township, they would study it for the summer and make a recommendation—whether approval or denial—in October. And the October date is set because…they take all resolutions from all six areas and group them into one and they make all their final decisions in October.”
Councillor George Anderson also suggested the stretch of the Hwy. entering Baysville should be investigated because people “fly down the hill and come up to the crest and then throw on their brakes… coming into town.”
Lacroix said he though the District would investigate that entire stretch in both directions.
The motion was passed unanimously by council.
Don’t miss out on Doppler!
Sign up here to receive our email digest with links to our most recent stories.
Local news in your inbox three times per week!
Click here to support local news
Bob Mace says
I think the town’s resources could be better spent fixing the roads, instead of lowering the speed limits. If they keep the pedal pushers off the roads and the runners there is no need to reduce the limits
Mike Bennett says
The issue is not pedal pushers and joggers. It’s the people driving it like there on the 401
kelly zytaruk, Karen Zytaruk says
There is no need to reduce limits here.
The Ministry obviously thought it was safe enough to pass by making it a passing zone. If it truly is dangerous why not draw a double yellow line and make it a non-passing zone.
By reducing limits you are only pushing the issue farther down the road until someone else complains.