Highland is the main artery out to Foothills; lowering the speed limit is not a very practical solution in my opinion. I'd prefer to see the RCMP spending some time ticketing the speeders to see if that helps before they consider lowering the speed limit. As for the truck traffic? How are they supposed to get through? Send up into someone else's neighbourhood?

What the neighborhood forgets is if they try to divert truck traffic, they simply offload the problem onto another neighborhood.

Overall the truck traffic through the area is not significant, its not like its on a logging truck route, nor a regular chip truck haul. What they have is mainly delivery trucks and gravel trucks doing construction in the area.

I live in the area, travel the area allot. I think the community should spend a bit more time looking at what the real problem is. Themselves, their neighbors. The majority of the traffic is local, if they cant get their neighbors to slow down, lowering the limits wont help. A few RCMP speed traps will.

Lowering the speed limit will not reduce speeding. You can legislate all you want on most any subject and the enforcement becomes the problem. Why can't these concerned p[eople do what others do and put little wooden people on the centerline?? That certainly makes me pay more attention.

Little wooden people? What about little stuffed bunnies also...How ridiculous!
I live on Highland,and have for many years.The amount of heavy truck traffic has quadrupled in the past few years.It is not local traffic.It is people cutting through to the Hart..possibly to avoid the scales or just to take a shortcut.

"The amount of heavy truck traffic has quadrupled in the past few years"


Have you by any chance notice the increase in building around you?

People cry that they want pot holes fixed and roads inproved, but then when a few trucks roll through they whine. They like it when their neighbors do yard improvments, but whine when a few truck roll through.

You might want to consider that we ALL paid to have those roads built, not just the people who have driveways on them.

Highland Drive is a street in a residential area and it should not be used regularly by heavy truck traffic which is simply avoiding a brake check in another nearby location and as a convenient alternative when avoiding the weigh scales on the Hart.

There are two real truck routes already:

The four lane Hart Highway and the properly designed Foothills Boulevard which has a speed limit of 80km/h and 70km/h on the lower portion.

These inconsiderate law breaking trucks have grow accustomed to barreling through on Highland Drive at speeds exceeding the posted speed limit by 20km/h and on many occasions (as clocked by radar) they will travel at 80 and 85km/h.

For anyone to be in favour of such law breaking behaviour is simply unbelievable!

People doing 80+ on Highland are already in line for an "excessive" ticket - (30 over posted) Therefore, all that is needed is police presence to hand out the tickets. Lowering the speed limit to 40 will change nothing, will it?

The young girl that made a report to council along with Ben was excellent. She made a very good case. I predict that we will see a lot more of her in future years. A very wise person.

diplomat

rather presumptious on your part, have you stopped each and every truck and asked them where they are going?

I live in the area, I dont see what your seeing, maybe a burr up your saddle about it?

These trucks which are using Highland Drive to avoid the scales as you say, what are they? Logging, highway, gravel, other use?

Some advice to all the whinners in that area, and believe me its getting crazy how many tree huggers have moved there, every truck has a name on the door. If its a fleet truck and you think they are trying to avoid the scales, simply phone the name on the door, give the time and date they were there, trust me, their boss's will want to know, then phone the weigh scales, they will patrol the area if they get enough calls.

Take names off the doors, liscense plate numbers, ID plate numbers, call the owners, call the scales.

"Lowering the speed limit to 40 will change nothing, will it?"

What it will change is allot more speeding tickets for those who live in the area. Follow the speeders during the day, most turn off onto one of the side streets and go to their homes.

First question to these residents is.

Was the speed limit 50kmh when you moved there ?

ST: "... then phone the weigh scales, they will patrol the area if they get enough calls.

Take names off the doors, liscense plate numbers, ID plate numbers, call the owners, call the scales."

This has been done more than once, Sir! The Scales have no authority whatsoever over city owned residential streets!

Perhaps you can go to the Scales and get some information before you make uninformed suggestions!

I am beginning to wonder what your interest in this matter really is! How many trucks do you own?

Have a nice day!

"Councilor Murry Krause also wants to see if there are other neighbourhoods in the City with similar situations."

Yes, Aberdeen! Please! 4 school buses travel this road. Lot's of school kids from Kindergarten up to Highschool waiting at their stops on sidewalk, walking to their stops and crossing the road to get to their stop. More than once I've had to raise my hand to drivers speeding along to try to protect someone elses child.
This is a big deal and should be made into an even bigger deal!
Love that 11 year old girl for speaking up! Good for her!

"This has been done more than once, Sir! The Scales have no authority whatsoever over city owned residential streets!"

your sir are the uninformed ones, if the trucks are breaking any rule or regulation, the DOT has full enformenent powers on any street or road. The DOT now also carries radar guns.

I think where you are confused is if the trucks are not breaking any rule or regulation, what is there to do? Nothing because they are doing nothing wrong.

What is my interest in the matter?

2 fold, I live in the are and yes, I do have trucks.

People like yourself who whine and complain about anything and everything when there is no law being broken cost the taxpayers allot of money for your own "special" interest.

Let me guess, you new to the area, you just moved to Hart Highlands in the past few years? I have lived in the are for over 30 years, I have seen the development and with that I have seen the newbies come in then decide they want to change it for their own good with no consideration for others.

What is my interest in the matter?

2 fold, I live in the are and yes, I do have trucks.

People like yourself who whine and complain about anything and everything when there is no law being broken cost the taxpayers allot of money for your own "special" interest.

Let me guess, you new to the area, you just moved to Hart Highlands in the past few years? I have lived in the are for over 30 years, I have seen the development and with that I have seen the newbies come in then decide they want to change it for their own good with no consideration for others.

The residents have now opened a can of worms. There are two ways into and out of the area, Highland and Austin. So the residents are proposing to impede another major corridor. Appropriation may be appropriate in this case.

If that road is so dangerous for the volume of traffic and the speed at which it is driven (which it is IMO), perhaps they should properly design and build the road for the volume on a primary artery which is what that road is.
A proper 2 and a half lanes with bike lane, pedestrian sidewalk, and a few pedestrian overpasses. Problem solved for a mere $20 million.

Maybe they should strike a committee to initiate a study so we can have a referendum on whether the issue should go before council for them to solicit the provincial and federal governments for infrastructure funding.

The solution is simple.

Police enforcement.

The rules and laws are fine for that area and most others. Just get somebody in power to ask the police to step up patrols.

What is my interest in the matter?

"2 fold, I live in the area and yes, I do have trucks."
.....Hence the mentality of not trying to protect others...sad

fuceneh

thats an idiot comment, where have I not tried to protect others? I gave out the suggestions of writing down people who they feel have broken the laws, I asked for an increase in police presence to upkeep the law.

My concern here is the "special" needs citizens who feel laws should be different for them than any other area because they whine the loudest. I have lived in the area for over 30 years, I have seen the growth, I have seen the whiners come, but I know this, 50 km per hour is fine is people live by it.

A main street which has been a main street since its inception, why now do we lower the limit to 40 km per hour and ban truck traffic? All that does is off load a supposed problem onto somebody else's neighborhood. I drive these roads every day, I get passed on Highland Drive, not by trucks, but by compact cars diven by young girls, mini vans driven by wives, pickups driven by husbands, only to have them turn off the main road onto their street 4 blocks up.

Because I own trucks I have nothing to do with truck traffic in the area, I am not allowed to park at my home and have not for nearly 10 years. I have to have a shop in the BCR industrial site and my units stay there when they are not working, I have no vested interest in keeping truck traffic in the area other than I think its a stupid idea to offload the problem on another area.

Enforce the laws as they are written, it has been proven many many times that they work.

I suggest you might be the problem, run and gun comment with no backup, is that the way you drive as well?

Because you have recently moved into the area, the fact that you bought a home and property doesn’t count. Stompin Tom decides what’s right for this area because he has lived here for thirty years.
For those people who have lived on the street for 35 years, too bad Stompin Tom has the only say.
I agree with the people living on Highland that the street does not support traffic going faster than 50 kilometres. I have tried to drop of my kids at the Hart Ski hill in the winter, and the road is curvy, slippery and has lots of spots where visibility is poor. I had a heck of a time trying to turn around without getting nailed by someone barrelling down Highland Drive.
Everyone knows that if the limit is reduced to 40, then police won’t hand out a ticket until a vehicle is clocked at 50 or more.
Maybe Tom can tell us what company trucks he operates, because the gals who operated the speed board wrote down the name of every trucker that was speeding, and there were a lot. Are you in that group Tom?
Oh I forgot , he doesn’t count because, he has lived on the Hart for 30 years and regardless of ICBC statistics that show you can’t safely stop a large truck on the grade they have on Highland at 50 kilometres an hour. The people at City Council didn't ask to ban Trucks just control the practise of evading the weigh scales ,some how tom has turned that into a truck ban, but then Tom knows best .

Trudy

You feeling better?

What are you doing trying to turn around on Highland Drive? Thats an illegal manouver. Are you part of the problem or part of the solution?

Next question, did you read the main story, yes they did ask to ban trucks from the road, but dont let the facts get in the way of a good story.

By the way, the Hart Ski Hill isnt on Highland Drive, once again, dont let the facts get in the way of a good story.

The gals who operated the speed board should post the name of every truck the found speeding, as well as every soccer mon, every teen and every father late for dinner.

Be carfull what your cook, you might have to eat it.

Reading wasn't your strong suit, Tom

It says


"The delegation requested three things:

Reduction in speed limit along Highland,

Commitment of enforcement by RCMP

Limitation on trucks to “local traffic only”.

Hart Ski Hill(balsam Park) Park runs up and has access on Highland drive.

For a person who has lived in the area for thirty years, you do have limited knowledge, and you do have trouble reading other than what you want to believe.

Tom,
I have lived on Highland for eighteen years...I know what kind of truck traffic drives by my house every morning starting at 5AM.Lose your near-sighted trucker mentality and have some consideration for your Hart Highland neighbours.

fuceneh

ok, what kind of truck traffic goes by your house every morning?

When you bought your house, did you notice a road in front of it?

The funny thing is, I keep hearing the biggest problem is speed, and thats not truck speed, thats your neighbors and yourself. According to Meisners stats in the citizen 243 of 1089 vehicles who passed through a radar zone were going above 60 kmh. Those arnt trucks, there is nowhere near that amount of truck traffic on that road.

What I would love to see is the drivers abstracts for every person in those 30 homes who did the studies, lets see how many are hypocrites, how many speed in their own neighborhood and other peoples neighborhoods.

How bout you loose some of your near-sightedness and have some consideration for your Hart Highland neighbors!

Trudy

your really making youself look very bad.

"Limitation on trucks to “local traffic only”." is exactly a ban on truck traffic, read any manual, any regulation, any CVSE document, that is exactly what it says.


"Hart Ski Hill(balsam Park) Park runs up and has access on Highland drive."

The shopping center can be accessed through Highland Drive as well if you go far enough. Face it, your examples are horrid, your talking about a street which you have to turn twice to get to. So what, now you want every street withing a 2 mile radius set at 40 kmh because you once went to the ski hill and it was busy? Hey, here is a narrow sighted idea I suprised you never came up with, close the ski hill because it increased traffic.

I hope your neighbors didnt let you put the proposal together that went to city hall because if it did the councillor's are probably still laughing. I can just see it:

Trudy: "Mr Mayor, we need the speed limit reduced and truck traffic reduced on Highland Drive because I once went to the ski hill and almost got run over trying to make an illegal u-uturn because that road is curvy and slippery and has poor visability"

The Mayor: "uh Trudy, your talking about Winslow Drive, you have to turn off Highlands Drive onto Glengary, then you have to turn onto Croft Road before finally turning onto Winslow. What roads are you asking about?"

Trudy: "Mr Mayor, your listening skills arnt your strong suit, everybody knows the ski hill runs up and has access to Highland Drive"

The Mayor: "huh, you sure you dont live in Beaverly? What does Winslow Drive have to do with Highland Drive?"



Trudy, Im going to say thing again, please dont let the truth get in the way of a good story.

I see more accidents every year where Highland Drive meets Foothills Blvd than I have every seen on Highlands Drive itself.

I am going to suggest a simple, nearsighted solution to all your problems.

Close off access to Foothills Blvd from Highlands Drive. There, virtually no more truck traffic, decrease in vehicle traffic, the only people speeding are the locals trying to escape Hart Highlands. Now you dont have a problem, you have offloaded it onto everybody else, but that doesnt matter, they didnt buy a home on Highlands Drive so why would they care? A much safer Highlands Drive.

Incase any of you have comprehension problems I am being sarcastic, but is that solution any different than yours? Just a small inconvenience to the locals.

Trudy, since Im a helpful guy, here is a link to a map of the area so you dont get lost the next time you go to the ski hill.

http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&hs=cj2&q=highland+drive+prince+george&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=Highland+Dr,+Prince+George,+BC&gl=ca&ei=wprxSuh9hLKyA_Py3fgB&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CA0Q8gEwAA

No need to thank me, I am only here to help.

"By the way, the Hart Ski Hill isnt on Highland Drive, once again, dont let the facts get in the way of a good story."

The Hart Ski Hill has directly access from Highland Drive. Dozens of vehicles stop every day during the ski season to unload or pick up skiers.

The top of one run is less than 250 feet from Highland Drive.

There are also dozens of vehicles who make U-Turns on Highland Drive every day! In fact I have witnessed two collisions plus several near misses in a very short number of years!

Highland Drive was posted some years ago with No Trucks signs at Foothills and West Austin road. The signs were damaged and never replaced during snow plowing operations.

City engineering recently conducted radar surveys on Highland Drive. The results were frightening.

"For a person who has lived in the area for thirty years, you do have limited knowledge, and you do have trouble reading other than what you want to believe."

For instance, ST keeps saying that some are trying to offload truck traffic to other neighbourhoods - it has been patiently explained to him that there ARE ALREADY TWO TRUCK ROUTES! I shall identify them just one more time: Hart Highway #97 and Foothills! They are not *neighbourhoods* but wide highways designed to handle all kinds of traffic, including trucks who travel at 70km/h.

Trucks travelling at 70km/h are speeding excessively on Highland Drive and endangering the lives of others. If you want to go fast, stay away from residential streets!

It won't make any difference, of course.

Diplomat

The story in the citizen which was presented by Meisner, they reported 243 out of 1089 vehicles were going 60 kmh or faster on Highland Drive. Nowhere did it mention trucks traveling that speed, that does not mean there were none, but it does portray that the problem is far more passenger vehicle traffic. I travel that road at least twice a day in my passanger vehicle, I see the local idiots driving, passing me on highlands drive then turning onto their street 3 or 4 blocks farther up.

I have no personal interest in driving trucks on that route, I have no reason to. What I dont like is the do-gooders who really have no idea and take target at something they have little to no information about.

There is one simple soloution, increased police presence. You can drop the speed limit to 30 kmh and that aint going to make a damn bit of good if police arn't there to enforce it, all it will do is force more of your idiot neighbors to pass us on Highland Drive and turn off 3 blocks up.

As for your comments about the ski hill, there is no official access to the ski hill on Highlands Drive and every one of those people who stop there are creating a traffic problem and should be ticketed, especially in the winter and every one who makes a U-Turn does it illegaly. To go along with that are they trespassing on private property? They are just as big or a bigger problem in the winter.

So lets clarify this, there is a problem with people speed on Highland Drive, and those people who are reporting this problem are also the people who park illegaly in the winter and perform illegal u-turns in a dangerous part of the road according to them. They feel if the traffic is slowed down it wont be so dangerous for them to make their illegal manouvers?

So, where is the problem? Maybe its the people themselves who live there, who feel that they are justified in breaking laws because its their road, but scream like a banshee when they see a truck go through their area?

By the way, if I didnt make myself clear, there is a map posted just above with the entrance for the ski hill and an official parking lot. I suggest the dogooders here quit being hypocites and start using it. If your going to throw stones, you better not live in a glass house.

Breaking one law is no better than breaking another.

To quote diplomat:

"For instance, ST keeps saying that some are trying to offload truck traffic to other neighbourhoods - it has been patiently explained to him that there ARE ALREADY TWO TRUCK ROUTES! I shall identify them just one more time: Hart Highway #97 and Foothills! They are not *neighbourhoods* but wide highways designed to handle all kinds of traffic, including trucks who travel at 70km/h."

Please take the time to show me where the offical postings are of these truck routes? If you pay attention to the units that travel your area you will find the vast majority are construction related, building, road repairs, Highland Drive is the most direct route if your going to the pit at the bottom of Foothills. When your trucking it is vitally important to take the most direct route. There is this thing they keep preaching to us about, the carbon footprint. For trucks that is hugely relevant to the almount of fuel we burn. Taking a wide detour around your areas cost nothing but money and polution.

I ask once again, when you bought that house on Highland Drive, did you notice the road out front?

To all you whinners out there, lets see some numbers, so far all I have heard is bitching and moaning.

How many trucks pass through there, what configuration, gravel, log, long haul? Are they loaded, empty?

Just to reinforce a point, this morning about 9.30 am I turned onto Highland Drive from Foothills and set my cruse at exactly 50 kmh, mainly because of this debate.

I made it all the way to Nixon Cres before I was passed by a silver dodge minivan with a 30 something year old lady driving. This Van passed me just past the Nixon Drive entrance, it traveled to near the top end of Montgomery Cres and turned into a driveway. I took down the liscense number and the house address. There were 3 vehicles behind me at this point.

Since yesterday I have not seen a commercial vehicle travel the road when I have been on it or when I have been looking out my window. Maybe they all turn off before my house?

Tom;
Trudy was right ,your reading skills are suspect;
Traffic act of BC. read it...

Reverse turn
168 Except as provided by the bylaws of a municipality or the laws of a treaty first nation, a driver must not turn a vehicle so as to proceed in the opposite direction

(a) unless the driver can do so without interfering with other traffic, or,

(b) when he or she is driving

(i) on a curve,

(ii) on an approach to or near the crest of a grade where the vehicle cannot be seen by the driver of another vehicle approaching from either direction within 150 m,

(iii) at a place where a sign prohibits making a U-turn,

(iv) at an intersection where a traffic control signal has been erected, or

(v) in a business district, except at an intersection where no traffic control signal has been erected.

The volunteers who operated a Speed Watch radar board on Highland Drive for several days have recorded the speeds of passengers vehicles and trucks. All the details were handed over to the city officials after the Council Meeting ended and it also includes the details as to how fast they were going and to which outfit they belonged.

The presenters did not mention these details during the presentation as there was a time limit of the usual 10 minutes. That allowed only the highlights of the matter to be presented in a very condensed manner.

Perhaps the City would be willing to share the information with you.

This concludes my willingness to discuss this matter any further.

Tom;
The Hart Highlands ski Hill is accessible by Highland drive, between Glenngarry and Montgomery on the east side of Highland Dr.
The map says Path to Hart Highlands ski and Balsam Park. Instead of coming up with some pie in the ski ideas, the facts only please.
Also if you are a commercial truck driver as you say, have a re-read of the book you got for your license on U-turns, and failing that turn the license back in.
If the number of years you have lived on the street is the manner in which you dictate speed, or traffic, then we as a city, province and indeed country are in trouble.

billm

The quote from Trudy:

"I have tried to drop of my kids at the Hart Ski hill in the winter, and the road is curvy, slippery and has lots of spots where visibility is poor. I had a heck of a time trying to turn around without getting nailed by someone barrelling down Highland Drive"

Now from your regulations:

(a) unless the driver can do so without interfering with other traffic, or,

(b) when he or she is driving

(i) on a curve,

(ii) on an approach to or near the crest of a grade where the vehicle cannot be seen by the driver of another vehicle approaching from either direction within 150 m,


So if you read your regulations she a) interfeeded with other traffic, B) was on or near a curve, and C) on or near the approach or crest of a hill.

She said the road was curvy, slippery and poor visability. Can she meet any more of your criteria for an illegal u-turn?

I would hate to stand in front of a judge and try to defend her.

Frankly what I see here is a bunch of people who would like to break the laws of the road for their convenience, but would also like to ban or iiconvenience all other traffic for their own benefit.

If Highlands Drive was restricted for truck use that would force more trucks to have to proceed along Austin Road to access Foothills, no problem with that except they have to travel infront of a busy fire hall and then proceed through one of the busiest school zones in the Prince George area.

So what I am hearing is lets move the people from a main thu-way in the area and funnel the traffic into a busy school zone and fire hall. Seems to be to be just a tad hypocitical.

The simple fact is it doesnt matter if the speed limit is posted at 10 kmh, if the RCMP dont step up enformcement, it doesnt matter. Your neighbors cant keep their speed at 50 kmh now, why would they keep their speed at 40 kmh? All you would get is a bunch more soccer moms passing you impatiently.

Trudy,

as a commercial truck driver and owner I DO NOT MAKE U-TURNS because they are highly dangerous. I have already posted why yours are illegal, maybe you should take another look.

If your so interested in safety, why dont you take your children to the proper parking lot and safely drop them off, or would that be to much comman sense for you. Do you drive a silver/grey minivan?