With the school year starting soon, Perth is rolling out some traffic updates near St. John Catholic Elementary School and The Queen Elizabeth School to help keep students, parents, and drivers safer during busy times.
These changes come after school principals and parents expressed concerns about traffic in the area. Town staff conducted traffic counts, made observations on-site, carried out engineering studies, and held talks with school officials and the Lanark County OPP.
The main adjustment will convert the intersection of Wilson Street East and Halton Street into a four-way stop. Staff also suggest lowering speed limits to 40 km/h on parts of Arthur Street, Wilson Street East, Craig Street, Grant Street, Halton Street, and Robinson Street-key routes for school traffic.
New parking restrictions are planned for sections of Grant, Halton, and Wilson Street East to enhance visibility and reduce congestion during peak drop-off and pickup times. These streets will join Arthur, Craig, and Robinson as part of expanded Community Safety Zones.
Of the three intersections evaluated for potential four-way stops, only Wilson and Halton met the necessary traffic criteria.
According to an OPP review, there were five reportable property-damage collisions within the proposed safety zone from 2021 to July 2026. Police records also indicated three minor collisions along with three traffic complaints regarding speeding, parking issues, and increased traffic around St. John.
CAO Michael Touw mentioned that the town has been working closely together on this initiative.
“We’ve been working hand in hand with the school board so far through the whole process,” Touw said.
As September nears quickly, Coun. Isabel Mc Rae noted that residents should be informed about these changes to prevent accidents.
“I’m just talking about the communication piece; you know-for example-we could put it in the Loop or in the paper to get that information out there because school’s going to happen. It’s just around the corner,” Mc Rae said.
Coun. David Bird pointed out that there is already a system in place for notifying motorists about new street configurations.
“There is procedure for new traffic configuration or new signage, and I’m sure Grant Machan [director of environmental services] is already on top of that,” Bird said.
Committee members approved a motion for council’s final approval; staff will then install all necessary signs and pavement markings. This work is expected to cost around $12,000 which can be accommodated within this year’s operating budget without needing extra funds.
These changes will also integrate Perth’s Community Safety Zones into its primary Traffic and Parking Bylaw making it easier to manage future adjustments by keeping regulations centralized.
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