School Safety Zone Reduces Speed Limit at Gosfield North Public School

The County of Essex is reducing the speed limit on County Road 27 (Belle River Road East) around Gosfield North Public School in Kingsville.

The change lowers the speed limit from 80 km/h to 60 km/h between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday to Friday once signs are erected. This is expected to happen by the end of August.

A bylaw amendment creating a safety zone around the rural school was passed by County Council on July 21. It is the County’s response to concerns raised by parents and school officials about traffic congestion and speed on the road when students are being dropped off and picked up.

Kingsville Deputy Mayor Gord Queen raised the issue at County Council on March 17 and gave notice he would make a motion at a future meeting to set up the school safety zone.

County Road 27 is a two-lane arterial road with two-metre gravel shoulders. The lanes are narrow, only 3.5 metres. Infrastructure Services Department staff reviewed the road and traffic conditions, and spoke to school officials.

Creating a school safety zone, with signs to warn drivers, was determined to be the best solution, said Jane Mustac, Director of Infrastructure Services and County Engineer.

“A school safety zone gives drivers a visual signal that they need to be vigilant to avoid putting students and others in harms way,” Mustac said.

There are two accesses to County Road 27 from Gosfield North Public School, which is just south of Road 10. The school zone on County Road 27 starts approximately 485 metres south of Road 10 and extends 150 metres north of it.