Barrie City Council greenlights speed limit hike on Mapleview Drive East despite Councillor's safety concerns

During the February 28 General Committee Meeting at the City Hall, the Barrie City Council approved a motion to increase the speed limit on one of the busiest roads. It established a uniform 60 km/h speed limit on Mapleview Drive East from Highway 400 to the east city limit. The claim is that this decision was expected to lead to safer and more efficient traffic flow across the city.

“Hopefully that will actually reduce travel on local roads, because you can go 60 kilometers on Mapleview versus weaving your way through local roads,” said Michelle Banfield, executive director of Development Services. 

Mayor Alex Nuttall and other councillors, including Gary Harvey, Sergio Morales, and Bryn Hamilton, supported the recommendation.

"I completely understand the idea that more speed equals potentially more accidents like I get the thinking and the logic behind it," Nutall said. However he backed Banfield reasoning behind the increase in speed limit. 

Only Ward 4 Councillor Amy Courser voted against it. She argued for more restrictive measures for road safety rather than increasing speed limits. “Adding this extra speed in this area, particularly around I see that there are residential areas here. I'm concerned about this turning into a bit of a highway,” she said. 

In another matter, Barrie City Council rejected the motion to carry out a city-wide survey to get public feedback on the proposal to restrict fireworks in residential areas. 

The survey would have gathered the opinion of 1,000 residents and would have cost the city around $5,000.

The motion was brought forward by Ward 3's Ann-Marie Kungl and was supported by councillors from Wards 1, 2, and 4 as well. These councillors said they received the majority of the complaints, especially during Diwali.

Time Stamps - 
0:00 Intro 
0:3:30 Meeting Agenda 
0:14:00 Fireworks restrictions 
0:39:00 Mapleview Dr. speed limit