Road Safety & Speed Reduction Measures Underway as Students Return to School

As students return to school, slowing vehicles and protecting children and families travelling through our neighbourhoods must remain a priority.

Road safety isn’t achieved through one single measure. It takes a combination of engineering, education and infrastructure designed to encourage drivers to slow down.

That work is underway across Ward 6, with new and enhanced safety measures on Carruthers Avenue, Clearmeadow Boulevard and Savage Road.

You may have already noticed some of the work beginning. Here’s what residents can expect:

📍 Carruthers Avenue

✅ New urban shoulders from Keith Avenue to Clearmeadow Boulevard, underway now

✅ Traffic calming bollards

The new white pavement markings are urban shoulders. They are designed to visually narrow the roadway and encourage drivers to reduce their speed.

📍 Clearmeadow Boulevard

✅ New pavement markings and urban shoulders, underway now

✅ Enhanced speed feedback signs, late August to mid-September

✅ School Zone markings maintained

🔜 3 speed cushion locations, 2027

🔜 New pedestrian crossover at Clearmeadow Boulevard & Rushbrook Drive, 2027

📍 Savage Road

✅ School Zone markings and existing urban shoulders maintained

✅ Enhanced speed feedback signs, late August to mid-September

✅ Flexible safety bollards, early September

🔜 3 speed cushion locations, 2027

🔜 New pedestrian crossover at Savage Road & Nelson Circle South, 2027

What are urban shoulders?

Urban shoulders are painted areas along the edges of the roadway that visually narrow the driving lane and encourage drivers to slow down.

They are not bike lanes.

They also do not change existing parking rules. Where on-street parking is permitted, vehicles can continue to park there, including over the urban shoulder line. Regular posted parking restrictions and bylaws still apply.

What are speed cushions?

Speed cushions are similar to speed bumps and are designed to reduce vehicle speeds while allowing emergency vehicles to pass more easily.

This work continues

The improvements underway today are part of a longer-term road safety plan. The Town will monitor the effectiveness of the 2026 measures, consider additional improvements and move forward with speed cushions and supplementary measures in 2027.

And as we started, I’ll finish with the most important part: our students are returning to school.

Please slow down, stay alert and watch for children walking, cycling and crossing our neighbourhood streets.

Road safety is everyone’s responsibility.

Please Slow Down.

Kelly Broome

#PleaseSlowDown #RoadSafety #Ward6 #Newmarket #CommunitySafety