The city has a sign that traffic is slowing down on Dawson Road.
Actually it has two.
A pair of speed radar signs, that show the speed of a vehicle making its way down Dawson Road, were installed between Willow Park Drive and Hunter Road last November.
The stretch of road, which is now also a community safety zone near Five Mile School, was studied between then and this past August. The data shows that when the signs are activated, drivers slow down by as much as 10 kilometres per hour.
But when the signs are in stealth mode, traffic is back up to its usual 85 km/h in the 70 km/h zone.
City traffic technologist Ryan Love said while everyone has a speedometer, sometimes a little more flash is needed to get drivers to pay attention. Especially on a road that's near a school, has heavy truck traffic and can see more than 4,000 vehicles in a day.
"Sometimes having that speed displayed right at you is kind of a shock," he said. "They are working."
While it's a good sign that motorists are slowing down, even the slower speeds are above the limit. Love said city police have identified the road as an area for speeders.
"We are hoping that more enforcement can be done," he said.
The signs cost around $30,000 to purchase and install. The city will check back on the effectiveness of the signs in two years.
