Three new community safety zones declared for Barrhaven West

Newsletter: March 28, 2025

At council this week, I was able to make three sites in Barrhaven declared Community Safety Zones – Larkin Drive, River Mist Road and the connected streets of Weybridge Drive and Kennevale Drive. Community Safety Zones are areas with vulnerable residents, typically students, where speeding and dangerous driving tickets are doubled. New zones come with large signs to alert drivers to the risk of poor driving, both to the community and to their wallets. These zones help scare off reckless drivers, and help police prioritize operations, as they have a larger hammer to hit bad actors when caught. These three zones will provide greater protection to seven Barrhaven schools, including: Barrhaven Public School, St. Patrick School, Wazoson Public School, St. Benedict School, St. Kateri Catholic Elementary School, St. Elizabeth Anne Seton School, and Mary Honeywell Elementary School. 

Press Release - April 2025

When I first started running for office back in 2021, one of the most common concerns I heard from voters was speeding, particularly near schools. I have been talking to residents at the doors or over coffee every day since, and speeding has remained a top-of-mind issue for many. From Half Moon Bay to Old Barrhaven, our community wants safer roads.

Unfortunately, there’s not an easy fix. With the last council slowing down police funding, and with a booming and growing Barrhaven (did you know we added three new schools to our ward in just the last two years?), we have more people travelling our suburban roads and less consistent resources to police them. That’s why I’ve pushed for increased police funding at every budget I’ve had an opportunity to vote on. But that’s a long-term solution. Hiring and training officers takes time. What can we do now?

One tool in the City’s toolbox is Community Safety Zones (CSZ). You’ve probably driven through a Community Safety Zone before. These are areas in the city where fines for speeding or dangerous driving have been doubled due to the Zone's proximity to vulnerable communities, most often schools. By doubling the fines, CSZ make it more painful for speeders caught in the area. CSZ are separate from Automated Speed Enforcement cameras, so there’s not a guarantee that speeders will be picked up on camera. However, police prioritize these zones, as they know they have a bigger hammer to hit bad actors with if successfully caught. The large, hard-to-miss signage also gives good faith drivers traveling through the community who may not be aware schools are nearby a sharp poke to get their heads in the game.

That’s why I’ve been working hard over the last several months to get three areas I’ve heard consistent concerns from residents turned into CSZ. After some productive negotiations with staff and other councillors, I was proud to get all three areas approved at Public Works and Infrastructure Committee on Feb. 27th. Within the next year, signage will be going up on River Mist Road, Larkin Drive, and the connecting roads of Weybridge Drive and Kennevale Drive. These Zones will provide additional protection to seven Barrhaven schools including: Barrhaven Public School, St. Patrick School, Wazoson Public School, St. Benedict School, St. Kateri Catholic Elementary School, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School, and Mary Honeywell Elementary School.

I see CSZ as a necessary first step in improving our speeding enforcement in Barrhaven. It helps police prioritize our must vulnerable community members: children. It punishes bad actors, without disrupting local residents trying to lawfully go about their days. It provides a foundation that

we can now build on to ensure Barrhaven’s growing schools and the children who attend them remain safe.

More to come, but February 27th was a good day for Barrhaven and a bad day for speeders.