No stop sign needed on Port Robinson
Pelham Town Council moved place a second digital speed reader on Port Robinson Road at its July 5 meeting, but a staff report indicated conditions do not yet require installation of a stop sign.
Council asked staff to prepare a traffic study for the stretch of Port Robinson between Station Street and Rice Road back in January, but results showed that despite increasing speeds, hard mitigation techniques such a stop sign are not needed.
The study found that the stretch of road has a traffic volume of about 4,000 vehicles per day, with eastbound traffic notably faster than westbound. While a digital speed reader currently exists near Glynn A. Green School, Ward 3 Councillor Shellee Niznik moved to add another one east of Station.
Director of Public Works Jason Marr suggested the measure as a stopgap, saying that the area may require further speed mitigation enhancements later on it continues densifying due to construction.
Ward 2 Councillor Brian Eckhardt, however, disagreed with the study’s data calculation and said his experience as a former police officer adds context to different roadways.
“When somebody blows a stop sign on an 80 [kilometre per hour] stretch of road, and these cars T-bone, the consequences are devastating and you have multiple fatalities,” he said. “I’ve been to them personally, I know. A lot of stop signs in Pelham, years ago were made four-way stops because [at least] one of the cars is probably going to stop, and that’s all you need to stop those multiple-fatality collisions.”
The former Niagara Regional Police officer added that, “the speed probably doesn’t warrant it on Port Robinson, but from a personal standpoint, stop signs work.”
He then said that a lack of police traffic enforcement nowadays “is a particular burr in my saddle.”
Mayor Marvin Junkin concurred somewhat, saying “nothing beats a cop with a radar gun,” and asked Marr what, if any, chilling effect on speeders the digital signage has had.
The Public Works director said he did not have that information handy, but that the speed checkers do act as data collectors as well.
CAO David Cribbs said the approximate $6,000 price tag for the latest speed checker can likely be covered in the existing budget.
Chickens look OK to come to roost, on properties one acre or larger
Council finally appears poised to pass a bylaw regarding backyard hens at its next meeting following presentation of a long-awaited staff report on the matter during its July 5 gathering.
The report, crafted with input from Pelham’s Agricultural Advisory Committee, recommends licencing for backyard chickens only on lots exceeding one acre or 0.4 hectares, regardless of whether they fall inside the urban or rural boundaries.
If passed, it would be illegal to host hens on lots smaller than that. One acre or 0.4 hectares is the equivalent of approximately 43,500 square feet.
While Mayor Marvin Junkin and Ward 3 Councillor Shellee Niznik opined that the minimum lot size could be reduced, both conceded that would be unlikely to find much support.
“I’m a country boy … my feeling is everyone should have chickens,” Junkin said. “But, seeing some of the situations that were occurring … and hearing that [people] did not spend a million and a half [dollars] to wake up in the morning and smell chickens on the other side of the fence … somewhere along the line we have to have a rule. We spent a lot of time on this, it was impossible to make everyone happy.”
Other stipulations of the proposed bylaw include a one-time $100 licencing fee, a maximum of six chickens per property, and setback requirements that would keep coops a minimum of five metres from property lines. The new bylaw will not apply to farming entities.
Ward 1 Councillor Wayne Olson briefly floated the suggestion of reducing the setback requirements, but after hearing that Niagara Falls also has a setback requirement of five metres, he dropped the idea.
“It’s clear to me that’s not going to pass anyways,” Olson said.
Deputy Mayor John Wink asked staff if the new bylaw would be subject to minor variance applications if a resident wanted to challenge it. The response was no, because it’s intended as a licencing bylaw, subject to bylaw enforcement.
The topic appeared to be a popular one, with several members of the public attending the chicken portion of the meeting, and leaving immediately once council moved on to other issues.
Ride for Ukraine
Christyna Prokipchuk of Steppe Up for Ukraine got an audience with council to promote a charitable bike tour in the area on July 22. Prokipchuk said her group wanted to keep the struggle in Ukraine front and centre with people as the news cycle has seemingly deprioritized it — at least until recent news of a failed Wagner Group coup against the Russian state and reports of a possible dangerous flashpoint at the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant. The self-guided bike tour is set to begin at St. Mary’s Ukrainian church in Niagara Falls. More information may be found on social media under the handle @steppeupforukraine or by emailing [email protected]
