Citizens on Patrol (COP) is reviving its speed board program in 100 Mile House and surrounding communities, to monitor roads where excessive speed is an issue.
Mayor Mitch Campsall said he requested the revival of the road safety awareness program after concerned citizens came to council to report frequent speeding on Cariboo Trail.
“It’s not going to stop speeding completely, but it’s going to make people more aware of their speeding and it does help.”
David Mingo, captain of the 100 Mile House chapter, said there is no set schedule.
Volunteers go out when they can, to areas where an issue has been identified, and spend an hour or two tracking the speed of every car that passes. The board reflects drivers’ speed back to them.
“It’s a data collection tool for the RCMP,” said Mingo.
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Every speed board report is turned in to the local authority so they can see road activity in problem areas.
Mingo said the idea is first of all to raise public awareness, and show people how fast they’re driving on town streets where pedestrians are walking.
Secondly, the hope is that this data would translate to more speed limit enforcement on the roads, according to Mingo.
“We’re out there. Please be safe,” he said. “Watch out for your fellow travellers on 100 Mile House roads.”
Many of the streets of 100 Mile House still don’t have sidewalks, an issue Campsall said the town has inherited.
Campsall said he and the council will work on bringing sidewalks as quickly as they can, looking for available grants so it doesn’t heavily affect the $2.6 million taxation.
They also insist that new developers put in sidewalks of their own so to not worsen the problem, he said.
beth.audet@100milefreepress.net
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