Local kids take matters into their own hands to tackle speeding in Bolton

Written By KIRA WRONSKA DORWARD

Sackville Street is a quiet, residential hill adjacent to Bolton's four corners. Children often play at the height of the street, shouting “car!” whenever they hear someone coming, as their parents have taught them to do. 

“We know to yell when we hear [a car],” says seven-year-old Malia Reid. “So we can run back to the driveway.” 

However, the speeding along this 40 km/hour residential zone has become such a problem that Malia and her friends took matters into their own hands. They created two hand-made signs to post on the sidewalk- because the Town hasn't done anything.

“It's honestly unbelievable, how fast people come up the street,” says resident and mother of a young child, Paula. “They use it as a short cut. As a parent, it's terrifying because you try to keep an eye out as best you can on your kids. It's like your heart stops. It's so quick, you're terrified the kids aren't going to see [the car]. It's like Brampton- it's bad here. You can hear people racing up and down the hill all the time.”

Speeding through Bolton's main intersection has been an increasing problem in recent years, and has led to the adoption of a free parking policy downtown. It now seems that speeders are taking to the nearby streets to cut through town just as quickly. 

Mostly, says Paula this happens around dinner time, although they hear noises all night.

Paula says there are also problems with groups of teenagers frequently racing up the street. 

“Just last week,” she says, “Malia said ‘wow, that's a big monster truck!' and they stopped and yelled ‘shut up you little ------‘, and gave her the finger.”

Her neighbour, Tasha Reid, echoes her worries. “Anytime we let the kids out in the front yard, we're terrified. We're concerned for life in general, because they zoom up here with no cares. I started making it a habit to back into my driveway, because the whole backing out made me so nervous.”

“I understand you have to really step on it to go up the hill,” says Paula, “but they continue to go so fast. It's a zoo of kids here. All the moms and dads sit here, and we put high patrol on each and every one of these kids.”

As for what they'd like to see happen, both mothers ask people to obey the speed limit and go cautiously over the hill that crests their front doors and neighbourhood. “I want people to slow down and take that extra precaution,” says Paula. 

“I know there's been a lot of talk about speed bumps, but they're not safe in the winter,” adds Tasha, “so maybe temporary ones? For the spring and summer? And maybe some more signage.”

It shouldn't be up to seven-year-olds to remind adults and public works in this Town about the need to slow down. Those home-made signs are indicative of a much larger problem that we as a community need to address together.