Nobleton homeowner demands more speed enforcement on King Road to protect family

Spencer said his wife is still recovering to this day and the risk of being hit continues to haunt the family

YorkRegion.com
Jan 22, 2019
Sheila Wang

“That truck is definitely speeding.”

“See that car? It doesn’t look like 50 (km/h) to me.”

Mark Spencer shook his head as he watched cars roaring down King Road on the afternoon of Jan. 15 in front of his house in Nobleton, west of Highway 27.
Just two weeks before, his three children were almost hit by a motorist who was speeding through when they were about to cross King Road to board a school bus in the morning.

It was not the first time that Spencer had to face the horror of being so close to losing his kids.

For the past three years, close calls like that have taken place almost on a daily basis as drivers on the stretch of road tend to go much faster than the 50 km/h speed limit.

Spencer worried that it is only going to get worse since King Road is becoming a thoroughfare for people to get around construction.

“Do something about it,” Spencer pleaded in an email to York Regional Police (YRP) on Jan. 11. “This is potentially one of the most dangerous and/or lethal road segments in King county.”

While Spencer said he didn’t know what exactly could be done to solve the problem, the current law enforcement presence has not been helpful.
Statistics show York Regional Police have attended the stretch of King Road on a total of 101 occasions from Jan. 1, 2018 to Jan. 18, 2019, resulting in 950 charges laid for speeding.

However, Spencer said he sometimes saw police vehicles two days in one week, then they’d be “completely gone” for months.
Not enough, he said.

The reckless drivers on King Road don't just pose a danger to the children who have to walk across to board the school bus, but also to Spencer and his wife when they attempt to turn into their driveway.

“My wife almost died,” Spencer said.

In May 2018, Spencer’s wife was rear-ended while waiting on King Road to turn left. The Mercedes behind her that was going 80 km/h  -- possibly distracted -- ran into her car, leaving the wife severely injured and her Ford Explorer shrunken by 40 per cent.

“Had my kids been sitting in the back, they’d be killed.”

The car crash was one of the 24 collisions that have been reported to police for the past year, said Sgt. Maik Ahrens, who oversees the area complaints, noting it was not an alarming number.

“Obviously, zero was perfect, but given the volume that is going through there, it hasn’t been flagged for us as a high-collision stretch of road whatsoever,” Ahrens said.

Police have received notably more complaints from the east side of Hwy 27 than the west, he added, which was probably due to fewer residences west of Hwy 27.

Spencer said his wife is still recovering from her injuries to this day and the risk of being hit continues to haunt the family.

Every year, Spencer has to talk to the contracted school bus driver to adjust their route, so the kids don’t have to walk across the dangerous road to get to the school bus.

But every year, there is a new bus driver who would go back to the old route before Spencer has to file a complaint again.

After being left to fend for themselves for three years, Spencer said he wants to see some efforts to address the prolonged speeding issue right in front of their house.

He was, however, disappointed by the response from the police.

Police said in an email on Jan. 15 that they are opening a new speeding complaint area, and officers will review specific concerns and conduct enforcement accordingly.

“I’m quite happy with our existing efforts there. And we’ll certain maintain those,” Ahrens said in a phone interview.

As its most recent effort, York police installed an electronic counter on the stretch of King Road on Jan. 18 to count the volume of traffic and collect speed data.

It is not an “enforcement tool,” but rather an “analytical tool” to help police adjust the timing of their presence in order to be most effective in speed enforcement.

“Rather than the speeding aspect of it, what really alarms me is the school bus concerns,” Ahrens said.

The officer said police will continue to communicate with Spencer on the complaint to come up with solutions to ensure the safety of his children during school bus pickups and drop-offs.

Spencer also suggested it might be helpful to install a flashing speed warning westbound on King Road to alert the drivers to slow down on the stretch of the road in front of his house.

Currently, there is one flashing speed sign eastbound in the area where traffic goes from a 80 km/h zone to a 50 km/h zone.

Ahrens said York police will discuss with their counterparts at York Region to find out the best way to warn off reckless drivers, by either installing a flashing speed sign westbound or moving over the eastbound sign.