Speeding/Traffic Complaints

Residents who have concerns regarding speeding on area roadways or other vehicle related concerns can connect with Niagara Regional Police to report. 

The Niagara Regional Police Service have set up a hotline to allow citizens to provide feedback on traffic safety issues. The hotline allows the public to provide information on where traffic is dangerous, problems you're encountering on the roads, and other traffic safety complaints. This initiative serves as an additional way of reporting incidents you may have witnessed or become aware of. 

To use the NRPS traffic hotline, call 905-688-4111, ext. 5555.

Traffic complaints can also be made via email, by either sending complaint to trafficcomplaints@niagarapolice.ca , or by submitting the online form

Residents can also visit the Niagara Regional Police website directly for additional information.    

The Town of Pelham has a Neighbourhood Traffic Management Policy in place.

The overall purpose of the policy is to provide a comprehensive process that addresses local neighbourhood traffic issues experienced in the Town of Pelham. The specific goals of the traffic calming policy are to develop an integrated set of objectives and procedures that will combine to form a set of overall working guidelines that will:

• Educate residents about traffic calming so they can make more informed decisions and also understand the rationale behind the Town’s decision making process.

• Provide a policy that Town officials and the general public are confident is an effective and fair tool in evaluating speeding and/or traffic volume problems.

• Provide a standard format for dealing in a consistent manner with complaints regarding speeding and traffic safety concerns.

• Reduce the workload and duplication of effort for Town staff in responding to resident traffic concerns.

• Educate people on how to create a safe and a pleasant roadway environment for residents, motorists, cyclists and pedestrians.

• Encourage public involvement in the traffic calming activities.

• Educate residents on pedestrian and cyclist safety.

The full policy can be viewed here. 

Traffic calming, as defined by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Subcommittee on Traffic Calming, 1997 is:

“The combination of mainly physical measures that reduce the negative effects of motor vehicle use, alter driver behaviour and improve conditions for non-motorized street users.”

The following is a summary of the process that is used when proceeding with a request for traffic calming. The full policy can be viewed here. 

Step 1: Process Initiation and Pre-Screening

Residents with traffic related concerns are instructed to submit their written request to investigate traffic calming within their neighbourhood to the Town. Staff will then conduct a brief preliminary assessment to determine if the requested roadway meets the Initial Screening Criteria. If the roadway fails any of the areas listed in the pre-screening it does not qualify for physical traffic calming.

For locations not meeting the  initial screening criteria, staff will consider front-line mitigating measures to address the neighbourhood traffic concerns. These methods could include tools such as the use of driver feedback boards, targeted police enforcement, sign installation and pavement marking modifications. 

Step 2: Traffic Calming Neighbourhood Petition

After it has been determined that the requested location meets the initial assessment criteria, a petition will be distributed to the residents within the impact area. The Town is responsible for the initiation, distribution and collection of the Traffic Calming petition to ensure consistency of the process by managing the collection of public input and this will be done in a manner that incorporates community involvement. Before an area is considered for traffic calming a signed petition must be received by the Town showing a minimum of 25% support for traffic calming measures.  The signatures must come from households with direct frontage or flankage onto the section of roadway that has been identified as the location for the potential implementation of traffic calming measures, as defined by Engineering staff. 

Step 3: Data Collection & Point Assessment

Once a successful petition is received the collection of data is scheduled based on a priority list. The Town shall collect information and data along roadway(s) in the project as deemed necessary by Engineering staff to qualify and quantify the extent of the local traffic problem. A review of the data will be completed using recognized engineering standards. Once collected and summarized, the data will be utilized in the point assessment system to determine a total point value. The point assessment system is a screening process focused on the various attributes of a roadway in order to quantify its potential need for traffic calming. By means of assigning weighted points based on the severity of certain road attributes (e.g. 85th percentile speed), this process will bring to the forefront roadways requiring consideration while quantifying the current conditions. The minimum number of points required to proceed with the investigation of traffic calming measures differs based on the classification of roadway. In keeping with the objective of restoring roadways to their intended function, local and collector roadways are designed and expected to convey varying levels of traffic volume.

Should a location fail to meet these requirements, residents will be notified in writing and the investigation for traffic calming measures will discontinue. However, staff will continue to address the concerns of the residents by means of the front-line mitigating measures.

Step 4: Traffic Calming Design Considerations

The data collected combined with site visits, historical information, future maintenance and construction plans, as well as resident feedback will be taken into consideration to determine potential traffic calming measures. Appropriate traffic calming measures will be determined based on the list of traffic calming measures outlined in the Traffic Calming policy. The traffic calming design could include one or more different types of traffic calming techniques. The preferred design will first be presented to emergency and/or roads operations services. While it is preferable to modify the traffic calming design, if modifications are not able to remedy agency concerns, the traffic calming process will be discontinued for the roadway under consideration and residents will be notified.  

Step 5: Public Information Centre, Public Notice & Resident Notification

Staff will host a Public Information Centre (PIC) to present the purpose, objectives and implementation process of traffic calming in general. The PIC notice will be circulated to all residents who live within the affected area, which may include adjacent streets, as determined by staff. Residents will also be notified that traffic calming has been either approved or not approved by the Town on the subject roadway. The notice will be sent to the same mailing list used to deliver the traffic calming survey and any other persons having requested notification throughout the process.

Step 6: Finalize Preferred Traffic Calming Plan

Using technical data, community feedback, and in keeping with the goals, objectives and principles set out in this policy, staff will finalize the preferred traffic calming design to be put forward as the recommended preferred traffic calming plan. In finalizing the preferred traffic calming plan, general consideration will be given to the various aspects of road design such as utility placement, landscaping, sign requirement and drainage.

Step 7:  Implementation of Traffic Calming Measures

Upon approval of Council, resident notification, and sufficient funding, traffic calming measures will be implemented. Residents will be notified of implementation timelines through the contact mailing list. Where feasible, staff may decide it is beneficial to phase in the traffic calming plan through the use of temporary or removable traffic calming measures such as pavement markings or flexible delineators. This will allow time to examine the impact of the measures and their effectiveness before committing funding to permanent treatments.

Step 8: Evaluation and Monitoring

Engineering staff will monitor the roadway to determine the effectiveness of the utilized measures and their impact on the surrounding road network. This information will be used in recommending similar measures in the future. In addition to conducting before and after speed studies the Town will conduct studies to assess if the traffic calming plan has resulted in significant amounts of traffic diverting to adjacent, parallel streets in some cases. These after studies will be compared with the Town’s ‘before’ studies to determine the change in traffic volume.

The full policy can be viewed here. 

Be prepared for pedestrians: 

• pay special attention to pedestrians especially when turning
• watch for children. Drive slowly and cautiously through school zones, residential areas or any other area where children could be walking or playing.
• watch for Community Safety Zone signs that indicate areas of special concern to the public
• be patient especially with seniors or pedestrians with disabilities who need more time to cross the road
• drive carefully when you are near streetcars or bus stops where passengers get on and off, and be sure to yield and stop when required

When you’re driving and a school bus approaches:

1. Watch if the bus stops, flashes its upper red lights and/or activates its stop arm.
2. For roads without a median (raised barrier between lanes), vehicles in both directions must stop:
   • if you are driving behind the bus, stop at least 20 metres away
   • if the school bus is facing you, stop at a safe distance to let children get on and off the bus and cross the road
   For roads with a median, you must stop if you are driving in the same direction as the school bus. Vehicles coming from the opposite direction are not required to stop.
3. Wait for the bus to start moving or the lights to stop flashing before continuing on your route.

Avoid distracted driving

Use any of these tips to avoid distracted driving and its penalties:

• turn off your phone or switch it to silent mode before you get in the car
  • put it in the glove compartment (lock it, if you have to) or in a bag on the back seat
• before you leave the house, record an outgoing message that tells callers you’re driving and you’ll get back to them when you’re off the road
  • some apps can block incoming calls and texts, or send automatic replies to people trying to call or text you
• ask a passenger to take a call or respond to a text for you
  • if you must respond, or have to make a call or send a text, carefully pull over to a safe area
• silence notifications that tempt you to check your phone

What is Micromobility?

The popularity of micromobility devices in recent years is giving rise to the fastest-growing mode of transport in cities across the province. 

Learn more about how to "make every ride, a safe ride"