Either 'deplorable' driving stops, or southwest Edmonton councillor will look at speed reduction options

Southwest Edmonton has a speeding problem, according to hundreds of complaints Ward pihêsiwin councillor Tim Cartmell says he has received.

It's a problem so serious, Cartmell felt it was necessary to use his "dad voice" in a Facebook post scolding residents earlier this week.

"I'm not talking about people doing 50 [km/h] in a 40 [km/h zone]. We've heard behaviour of people passing other vehicles in school zones. So that means someone's doing 40 and someone else is doing 70 in the wrong lane," Cartmell told CTV News Edmonton on Thursday.

"That's a bit extreme. And it's not everybody. We've got some extreme examples. But we had at least one incident where a child was struck by a car."

Although the incident was classified by police as minor, according to the councillor, it implies a larger problem of people ignoring rules meant to make communities safe, Cartmell said.

"I got [an email] from a family that saw this other child get hit in front of them. How do– What do you do?" he asked.

"I'm at a bit of a loss. I don't know what to tell them when people are saying, 'We want to feel safer on the road in front of our house, and we don't. Help. Help us.'"

'IT'S YOUR NEIGHBOURS'

Cartmell told residents he'd be asking City of Edmonton administration to explore traffic-calming measures in problem areas and Edmonton Police Service to ramp up enforcement.

He identified the intersection of Windermere Road and Windermere Boulevard and Wright Drive and Washburn Drive, since the closure of Ellerslie Road, as hotspots.

But doing those things would detract time, attention, and money from other issues, Cartmell pointed out.

He called speeding a "correctable thing."

"I represent 18 or 20 neighbourhoods. Every one of them has a road. Every one has a chronic spot. And they know. And every one of them has contacted my office with a concern about speed, but think about who that is? It's the people that live in that neighbourhood," he said.

"It's your neighbours that are upset with your driving behaviour. So try that on a little bit."

Tim Cartmell expresses his frustration with "deplorable" driving behaviour in southwest Edmonton during an interview on Oct. 27, 2022.

"Or else, what are our choices?" he asked.

"If that's what's required to keep people safe, then that's what we have to do. That's the only responsible choice."

According to Cartmell, more than 80 neighbourhoods have asked and are waiting for traffic-calming measures, such as trailers with speed feedback signs. So he believes all of Edmonton could have the same problem.

"Southwest Edmonton isn't special. I'm not special. All of my colleagues have a similar concern somewhere."

With files from CTV Edmonton's Jeremy Thompson