OTTAWA - McKellar Park residents, tired of drivers using Windermere Avenue as a shortcut, have been benefiting from fake stop signs at a key intersection for nearly a year.
In July someone installed three stop signs at the T-intersection of Windermere and Crossfield avenues. They were identical to authentic City of Ottawa stop signs and the culprit painted the road with the standard white lines to match.
The plan went off without a hitch until an alert crew of city workers noticed the signs werent set in concrete, the way official stop signs are. And so last week, the city took them down.
The intersection is on the eastern side of McKellar Park. Residents say drivers looking for quick passage from Carling Avenue north to Richmond Road zoom down Windermere, right by the park.
The move has angered residents. Catherine Adam, who lives on Windermere, notes that the city provides recreational activities in McKellar Park, but wont take steps to protect the children entering the park.
"Its a tragedy waiting to happen," she said.
"Cars often will race along here at 70 to 80 kilometres an hour," said another resident, Chris McKillop.
"If theres any place in the world that deserves a stop sign its right there," said Geoff Wright, adding that kids from nearby Nepean High School often use that intersection to get to the park.
Residents kept mum about who they thought put up the signs. Kitchissippi Councillor Christine Leadman supports a stop sign for the area, but, contrary to rumours relayed by some residents, she says did not have a hand in supplying the illicit signs.
She recently sent an e-mail explaining that illegal, improperly installed signs could fly off in an accident or bad weather and hit someone, or the installer could damage wires or pipes in the ground, leaving him or her on the hook for costs.
A criminal investigation is under way, searching for the perpetrator. Violators of the citys various bylaws governing signage face fines of $5,000 per infraction.
It is also possible  though unlikely  that the perpetrator would be charged with public mischief, which, at its extreme, carries a penalty of five years in jail.
Residents on Windermere are not alone in feeling neglected by the city. A Barrhaven resident recently spent $300 of his own money on signs reminding motorists to avoid rolling stops. Added to existing stop signs, his notices fell afoul of a bylaw meant to keep views at intersections from being obstructed and the city ordered them taken down.
In October, residents of Grenfell Crescent in Nepean staged a demonstration to discourage commuters from using it as a shortcut.
Since 2003, Ottawa police say theyve been treating traffic enforcement as a top priority, adding 18 officers to the traffic section and cracking down on particular offences on a monthly schedule: This past May, stop-sign violations were the theme; this month its impaired driving; in July, it will be pedestrian safety.
While councillors have input, the citys traffic department has final say about where to put signs. A study two years ago showed the traffic on Windermere didnt warrant stop signs, but another study is under way.
"There has to be recognition that these communities are now having to cope with more and more traffic," Leadman said, pledging to fight for a legal set of stop signs. "Ive certainly let (the citys traffic) staff know my position on this issue."
With the departments approval, new signs could be up in a matter of weeks. Otherwise Leadman will have to take the matter to a council committee for a vote ordering the signs be erected, but she said new staff at the traffic department had "really taken the community needs into consideration."
