'This is a bit of a racetrack': Speed limit dropping to 60 km/h on stretch of March Road in Kanata

Residents of Kanata North have been petitioning City Council for years to reduce the speed limit on March Road, a major thoroughfare for the area's high-tech cluster. 

On Wednesday, Council approved a speed reduction on a stretch of March Road between Carling Avenue and Teron Road from 80 km/h to 60 km/h.

Kanata resident Patricia Taylor says it is about time the city lowers the speed limit here. 

"I travel this road frequently, and I pray every time I get in the car that God will get me there safe," Taylor said.

"Some of them go so fast, and I'm usually going 80. But sometimes I'm a bit slower, and cars are jutting in and out."

Many smaller businesses in the area, including Luna Crepes and Cafe and Trudel Home Hardware, support the reduced speed limit.

Ammar Gulen, owner of Luna Crepes and Cafe, said, "It is too fast. Especially in a zone like this."

Mike Minosora, manager of Trudel Home Hardware, said, "For the years that we've been here, this road has been very dangerous. Eighty km/h turns to 100 km/h very quickly, and we've had numerous accidents just leaving this mall."

However, some residents have expressed concerns that reducing the speed limit will not make a significant difference without police enforcement or speed cameras. 

Neil Thomson, president of the Kanata Beaverbrook Community Association, says reducing the speed limit is overdue.

 "This is essentially a highway because people are doing 20 kilometres over the limit," Thomson said.  "You’ve got a lot of merge ramps coming on so people are speeding up and they're not looking to see other vehicles. They're looking to pull in to merge with traffic at full highway speeds. So as someone said, this is a bit of a racetrack."

The latest data shows that there were 26 collisions on this road in 2019. 

Kanata resident Brenda Clarke said, "Try and turn left on Teron Road at 9 o'clock at night and you take your life in your hands. Because people are doing 100 or 110. Not even 80." 

Many residents are hopeful that the speed reduction will make the road safer for everyone, but some think 60 is too slow.

Bill Dickie says, "It is a residential neighborhood not too far away. So yeah, I’d support going down to 60." 

Mike Lianos, another Kanata resident, wants to keep the speed limit at 80 kilometres per hour. 

"I personally liked the 80," Lianos said. "Because you know especially around traffic time when people get off work, it just bogs down to begin with."

As for Patricia Taylor, she thinks drivers should be slowing down everywhere. 

"I mean they're just in a hurry. The whole world is in a hurry. Ottawa is in a hurry."