Public Works Committee Focuses on Lake Street Safety, Quality Management Plans, and Downtown Construction

The Public Works Committee focused on traffic and pedestrian safety on Lake Street, especially between Bartlett Avenue and Ontario Street, after residents described speeding, unsafe passing, and risks for students walking to Grand Avenue Public School. The committee also endorsed the town's quality management operational plans for water, roads, wastewater, and stormwater systems, received an update on automated red light camera revenue, and discussed communications and scheduling for the Downtown Reimagined construction project.

Topics Discussed

1. LAKE STREET SAFETY: Residents detailed speeding, unsafe passing, and school-area risks

A delegation led by Alex White asked the town to address safety issues on Lake Street in a residential corridor used by students, families, cyclists, and pedestrians. White said, "Um the purpose is to identify, problem-solve, and communicate issues regarding children, students, pedestrian safety in the Lake Street corridor between Bartlett and Ontario Street."

Residents asked for measures that would improve safety without closing the road. One speaker said, "We're asking not to eliminate any traffic flow, but we're asking for road safety measures to reflect the reality of the family oriented residential community that has schools, parks, cyclists, and children."

The committee also heard a specific example of dangerous driving near a bus stop. A resident said: "Um, in March there was a commercial truck... It dropped a forklift going over the speed hump. It didn't slow down and the forklift bounced off the the back and rolled twice before coming to a stop... this occurred less than 30 meters from a bus stop."

2. TRAFFIC CALMING RESPONSE: Staff pointed to corridor review and existing measures

Staff said Lake Street has been identified as a priority area for further analysis. Reg Freake told the committee, "the study has identified Lake Street as one of our priority areas that we need to do some additional analysis of."

Brandon said the broader review would cover more than the section named in the motion: "We'll look at the whole section right from the Lincoln limit all the way to Ontario Street."

Staff said the corridor review would consider traffic calming and other transportation improvements. Existing measures already in use include radar boards and speed monitoring, with information shared with Niagara Regional Police.

Council also discussed whether stop signs would help. Brandon cautioned that they can create other risks if used in the wrong setting: "I think studies have shown that they can become if they're not used in the right context, they become... you get a lot of non-compliance. So people running through stop signs... And what it can do is cause greater conflicts."

3. REPORTING AND ENFORCEMENT: Members said incidents need to be formally reported

Committee members said residents should report collisions and dangerous incidents so they appear in the data used by staff and police. Don Howe said, "it's disappointing when you know when you say that there was a collision and and nobody came out because collision data is part of what we use... to determine whether changes are needed."

He added that anecdotal concerns alone may not appear in staff reviews if incidents are not recorded: "if it's not in the record on that roadway and specifically recorded in the police data, then it doesn't come across in what we see."

Delight Davoli also encouraged residents to contact police directly, saying, "we can advocate for you to the police department but it also helps that you advocate for yourself as well."

4. QUALITY MANAGEMENT PLANS: Committee endorsed annual operational plans

The committee considered report DPW26142026, the Town of Grimsby QMS Operation Plan Endorsement. The report covered annual reviews and endorsements for drinking water, roads and transportation, wastewater collection, and stormwater management systems.

Committee discussion included how the town coordinates underground infrastructure work with road resurfacing to avoid repeated excavation. Staff said the systems remain in compliance and that findings and follow-up actions are tracked through the town's preventive and corrective action process.

5. DOWNTOWN REIMAGINED AND CAMERA REVENUE: Construction schedule, communications, and road safety funding

Staff said the Downtown Reimagined project had a pre-construction meeting scheduled for Monday. Delight Davoli said, "we have our construction pre-construction meeting on Monday... the schedule shows that they're completing by October 31st and they're starting on June 22nd."

Lianne Vardy stressed the need for frequent public updates during construction, saying, "if we need to let's overcommunicate... let's be accused of communicating too much, not not enough."

The committee also heard that the town received about $168,000 over 2024 and 2025 from the automated red light camera program. Brandon said "the town has received around $168,000 over the 2-year period from '24 and '25" and that the money had been allocated to a transportation engineering technology position. Staff also said the funds support road safety work such as radar boards, traffic calming, and data collection.

Motions

Carried: - Neighborhood Traffic Safety Concerns on Lake Street Between Bartlett Avenue and Ontario Street
Motion: "Resolve that the public works committee recommend that council direct staff to report back regarding neighborhood traffic safety concerns on Lake Street between Bartlett Avenue and Ontario Street."

• DPW26142026 — Town of Grimsby QMS Operation Plan Endorsement — Approved/Endorsed

Attendees

The following members were identified from the meeting materials and councillor list: - Don Howe - Reg Freake - Lianne Vardy - Delight Davoli