Neighbours tired of speeding motorists

By Mark Ribble

LEAMINGTON — Residents in the southernmost part of Leamington are tired of speeding cars, squealing tires and careless drivers.

In particular, the neighbours along Forest Avenue near Seacliff Park have had enough.

Froggy and Lisa Plourde have lived in their house on Forest Avenue for 14 years and they say that traffic has increased dramatically in recent times.

“It’s quadrupled in the last few years,” said Froggy. “The weekends are absolutely crazy.” Lisa says improvements to Seacliff Park have increased traffic flow substantially.

“With the splash pad and amphitheatre, traffic has certainly increased.”

The Plourdes are hoping the OPP and municipality can help get things under control.

“The OPP have been amazing,” said Froggy. “They are all over this place on the weekends.”

Lisa added that the officers on bicycles and four wheelers have certainly made a difference at the park. “But they don’t catch a lot of the speeders,” she said.

That’s where the issue becomes serious for the couple and their neighbours.

Even with speed bumps further up on Forest, they still see cars flying by their house.

“One guy was doing at least 120 (kph) down here,” said Froggy. “Someone’s going to get badly hurt.”

The Plourdes erected a new sign on their lawn at the roadway, which says “For God’s Sake! Slow Down.”

Froggy Plourde with his lawn sign asking speeders to slow down. The sign was stolen as quickly as it was put up, but Plourde says he’s installing a more permanent one.

SUN photo

Froggy is hoping it will at least serve as a reminder that there are pedestrians and cyclists — many of them children — all along the street.

Over the weekend, that sign was stolen, but Froggy has vowed to have a more permanent one installed.

The speeding car problem is not exclusive to Forest Avenue, either. Residents along Park Street, Erie Street South, Bennie Avenue, Robson Road and Cherry Lane are also dealing with the same issues.

Leamington councillor Tim Wilkinson brought the issue up at a recent council meeting and says they want people to know they are aware of the situation and working on a solution.

“We know all too well about it from people like Froggy,” he said. “We’re bringing those concerns to the Police Services Board and we hope people know we’re sincere when we say we are trying to fix it.”

The Plourdes think that a step in the right direction would be closing the gates at Seacliff Park at a certain time of night and reopening them in the morning.

“They are driving in here, doing donuts, even in the winter time,” he said. “If the gate was locked, they’d have to keep moving.”

When they first moved in to the neighbourhood, there was a manned gatehouse at the entrance to the park, but that gatehouse was destroyed in the 2010 tornado.

“It ended up on top of my truck,” said Froggy.

The current landscaping makes it difficult for cars to exit Seacliff Park, according to the Plourdes. Shrubbery planted at the gate often blocks the view of exiting vehicles, and there have been a number of close calls in that spot.

Mayor Hilda MacDonald says she is very aware of the situation and is working with council, administration and the OPP to work out multiple solutions.

“We are actively working to remedy this situation,” she said. “It’s not a quick fix, but we are working to find several solutions that will work in different problematic areas.”