(français ci-dessous)

The following letter was sent on Friday, June 4, to Mr Michael Page, Mayor of North Hatley and Mr Martin Primeau, Mayor of the Canton de Hatley, as well as to the respective town offices.

Mayor Page, Mayor Primeau

Friends Amis North Hatley, with the strong support of a number of citizens of the Village of North Hatley and the Canton de Hatley, has initiated a petition with the goal of reducing the noise, speed, number of trucks and the danger to pedestrians, cyclists and residents on Route 108 / Chemin Capelton and Chemin Magog. As of today, 162 citizens of both communities have signed the petition. 

Because of the pandemic it has been difficult to do door-to-door visits to build awareness so numbers are perhaps a bit lower than they might have been, and it is necessary to submit this to you by email rather than in person. 

This is the link to view the petition and what we hope to have happen is that photo radar* units are installed on critical stretches of 108 in the Village and in the Canton, and that only local delivery trucks are permitted to enter our communities. No more cumbersome, thundering, braking 53’ transport trucks going between Route 143 to Route 216 and Route 55.

As well, we attach three pages of comments from some of the 162 people who have signed the petition.

We would very much appreciate it if you, Mayor Page and you, Mayor Primeau, following our respective public meetings on Monday, June 7, would join forces to present the petition and our concerns to the Ministère de Transport du Québec who informs us “.. citizens are invited to share their problem with their municipality so that it can assess the merits of the request for all of its citizens. Secondly, if the request seems justified and beneficial for the majority of the population, the municipal council prepares a resolution which it sends to the Ministry for analysis and recommendation. “

Thus we are counting on your support and that of our councils to ensure that the citizens are supported in their concerns.

Thank you. We look forward to hearing of the positive results of our interactions.

On behalf of the many citizens of both our communities,

(Fanhca)

• * “Le ministère des Transports, as part of a pilot project, has deployed photo radars in some areas. The program’s latest evaluation report recommended deploying new devices in other regions to help improve safety; we are therefore currently working to allow their eventual deployment. The government will seek the collaboration of regions, cities and RCMs to take stock of the needs during the implementation of the next phases of deployment. The municipality, through a municipal resolution, can submit a site proposal to the Direction générale de l’Estrie when it considers that a problematic situation is occurring in relation to accidents related to speed or prohibited crossings. red lights.“ – Caroline Gagnon, Coordonnatrice sectorielle à la gestion des plaintes et réclamations, Direction générale de l’Estrie

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La lettre suivante a été envoyée vendredi 4 juin à M. Michael Page, maire de North Hatley et M. Martin Primeau, maire du canton de Hatley, ainsi qu’aux mairies respectives.

Maire Page, Maire Primeau

Friends Amis North Hatley, avec le fort soutien de plusieurs citoyens du Village de North Hatley et du Canton de Hatley, a initié une pétition dans le but de réduire le bruit, la vitesse, le nombre de camions et le danger pour les piétons, les cyclistes et résidents de la Route 108 / Chemin Capelton et Chemin Magog. À ce jour, 162 citoyens des deux communautés ont signé la pétition.

En raison de la pandémie, il a été difficile de faire du porte-à-porte pour sensibiliser les gens, donc les chiffres sont peut-être un peu inférieurs à ce qu’ils auraient pu être, et il est nécessaire de vous le soumettre par e-mail plutôt qu’en personne.

Ceci est le lien pour voir la pétition et ce que nous espérons, c’est que des radars photo* soient installés sur des tronçons critiques de 108 dans le village et dans le canton, et que seuls les camions de livraison locaux soient autorisés à entrer dans nos communautés. Fini les camions de transport 53’ encombrants, tonitruants et freinants qui circulent entre la route 143 à la route 216 et la route 55.

De plus, nous joignons trois pages de commentaires de certaines des 162 personnes qui ont signé la pétition.

Nous vous serions très reconnaissants si vous, Maire Page et vous, Maire Primeau, suite à nos réunions publiques respectives du lundi 7 juin, unissiez vos forces pour présenter la pétition et nos préoccupations au Ministère des Transports du Québec qui nous informe « .. les citoyens sont invités à faire partie de leur problématique à leur municipalité afin que celle-ci demande le bien-fondé de la demande pour l’ensemble de ses citoyens. Dans un deuxième temps, si la demande semble justifiée et bénéfique pour la majorité de la population, le conseil municipal prépare une résolution qu’il achemine au Ministère pour analyser et recommandation. »

Ainsi nous comptons sur votre soutien et celui de nos conseils pour faire en sorte que les citoyens soient soutenus dans leurs préoccupations.

Merci. Nous attendons avec impatience les résultats positifs de nos interactions.

Au nom des nombreux citoyens de nos deux communautés,

(Fanhca)

* « Le ministère des Transports, dans le cadre d’un projet pilote, a déployé des radars photo dans certaines régions. Le dernier rapport d’évaluation du programme recommandait de déployer de nouveaux appareils dans d’autres régions pour contribuer à améliorer la sécurité; nous travaillons donc présentement à permettre leur déploiement éventuel. Le gouvernement sollicitera la collaboration des régions, des villes et des MRC pour faire l’inventaire des besoins lors des travaux de mise en œuvre des prochaines phases de déploiement. La municipalité, par le biais d’une résolution municipale, peut soumettre une proposition de site à la Direction générale de l’Estrie lorsqu’elle considère qu’une situation problématique a cours relativement à des accidents liés à la vitesse ou aux passages interdits aux feux rouges. » – Caroline Gagnon, Coordonnatrice sectorielle à la gestion des plaintes et réclamations, Direction générale de l’Estrie

SVP signer la pétition ! / Please sign the petition!

– The other day a very large truck had to come into my lane to maneuver a curve on Capelton Road – not an intersection just a small curve – he almost hit me in my vehicle and cyclists. In the winter another large truck was not able to make the hill on 108 just leaving NH and started rolling backwards – again very dangerous and finally a gas truck could not navigate the corner from Capelton to 108 right in the heart of the village. It’s not safe.

– We live on Rue Capelton aka Route 108 and the trucks drive so fast and recklessly that we are actually afraid to cross the street to get our mail. On top of that, they are loud and wake us up very early in the morning, and sometimes in the middle of the night.

– For many years out neighbour and we have put small SLOW signs at our front gardens, because the traffic (especially trucks in a hurry) often is fast and doesn’t stop for pedestrians at the crossing where the sidewalk changes side in chemin Magog. With small children frequently using this crossing in the spring and summer months this is a real problem and could easily cause a major tragedy. Please reduce the speed limit into the village and restrict large vehicles “passing through.”

– Reduction of number of especially 18 wheelers, including loggers, which take this road to avoid scales. This for speed, noise and safety

– Heavy trucks have no business in downtown North Hatley. When someone gets hurt, which is inevitable, the Town will wish it had acted sooner to ask the province to exclude certain large heavy trucks from travelling on Route 108 (Capelton Road and Magog Road). Please act quickly to stop this type of truck traffic

– Évidemment, il faut devoir traverser le chemin Magog pour aller à l’eau, ou l’emprunter pour aller au village comme le font à tous les jours mes filles de 10 et 13 ans, à pied et en bicyclette, pour comprendre l’importance de ces demandes raisonnables et importantes. As a father, I shouldn’t have to worry about the speed of the cars or the size of the trucks in a small, beautiful village like ours when my two daughters, 10 and 13, ride their bikes to go to the park or to the tennis club. But I do, every day when they leave the house. Please listen to us.

– strongly support this petition regarding new regulations on Rt. 108 through the village

– I live on the corner of Vaughan and Capelton. Hundreds of bicycles cross at that intersection (including families with small children). Considering the speed with which vehicles (trucks, cars and motorcycles) descend the hill, it is a miracle that nobody has been killed.

– Between the noise from large trucks, motorcycles, speeding cars, something needs to be done.

– Reducing speed is unlikely to be effective without enforcement measures. I support such measures, both for the village and for the Township.

– make the route through NH as undesirable as possible for truck traffic in order to maintain the tranquility of this town.

– My family of 4 are US citizens from Massachusetts and have been vacationing every summer in our family cottage at 4200 Magog Road for over 60 years (until COVID). Along with all our neighbors there, we are definitely negatively affected by the truck traffic through town along Magog Road. Noisy, dirty, and unsafe, the trucks impact our enjoyment there daily. We respectfully urge you to enact and enforce controls to eliminate the unnecessary truck traffic.

– This situation is also a problem on our side of the river compounded by the hill causing more engine breaking noise. We must stop conversations while trucks are passing. Speed of all types of vehicles continues to be concerning with new families with young children now living here on rue Sherbrooke. Only trucks necessary for village commerce should be permitted.

– M. le maire,

– This action is long overdue. There are many children now cross these roads as a result of a shift of their parents working from home and spending more time in their cottages or homes. Having trucks barging down country roads is dangerous and detracts from the value and experience of the town.

– chemin Capelton – I would love to see a similar petition to reduce the speed on Capelton to 70km/hr outside of the village. The speed of traffic is often above the 90km/hr limit, and there is increasing pedestrian and cyclists use of the road (not to mention the continued presence of deer). The 90km/hr speed limit does not reflect the changes in use of the road in the past 20 years (many more residential addresses; many more cyclists).

– Initiatique parfaite Deuxième pétition à cet égard!! C’est une question de sécurité!!!!!

– Réduire la vitesse

– La répétition des plaintes depuis des années confirme le malaise profond installé au sein des citoyens du village quant à leur sécurité ainsi que celle des piétons et cyclistes. J’ai pu voir de nombreuses manœuvres dangereuses de camions et d’automobilistes impatients mettant la sécurité de tous à grand risque sur ce chemin étroit; attendre signifie risques d’accidents et de morts potentielles. Il est temps d’agir et de prendre la responsabilité sérieusement d’une réalité envahissante non seulement dans les déplacements quotidiens mais aussi du bruit infernal des camions qui circulent. On doit prendre des actions concrètes rapidement et ce sans grands investissements. Merci d’appuyer activement cette initiative.

– As a summer resident and avid bicyclist, Route 108 has become over the years of a dangerous and noisy road. Trucks should use the new much larger and safer Rte. 410.

– The roads are a mess from the trucks and my car has been damaged from the pot holes that have not properly been filled. The trucks speed through town and are unsafe and disturb the community.

– Having a cottage, in North Hatley, I agree that this current situation need to change

– Thank you, this is vitally necessary and long overdue. It would be even better to reduce speeds on all roads in the village to 30 km/h as did Ste. Catherine de Hatley and as is customary in residential areas worldwide. Thank you!

– Reroute the damn trucks! It’s a danger for my young children!

– .. at the junction of ch. Magog (108) and ch. Université .. the noise generated from trucks speeding along the 108 towards North Hatley is unbearable.

– La route 108 passe par un quartier très résidentiel de North Hatley, ayant des deux cotes des maisons familiales. Ces camions sont tres bruyants et dangereux et, lorsqu’il existe une alternative valable, il est inadmissible que ceux-ci roulent dans le village. SVP imposez-donc un nouveau parcours. La qualité de vie en sera très ameliorée.

– It is terrifying to witness the speed at which some trucks come careening down the hill to barely come to a screeching halt at the sign. There should definitely not be any through traffic of heavy trucks through North Hatley.

– it is more than about time this very serious and dangerous situation be addressed I AM ALL IN!

– I am fully devoted to this cause If I can contribute in any way, I will.

– Keeps the trucks off route 108

– It is critical to stop the onslaught of trucks coming into our village. Noise, speed & safety

– Way too many trucks, not just 108, but especially those using 143 instead of 55. Most Quebec municipalities have reduced maximum speeds to 40 on major thoroughfares, and to 30 on minor streets.

– There is significant truck traffic on our steep road as well.

– The narrow and winding road with insufficient width allowances for pedestrians and cyclists is unsuitable and dangerous with current fast-moving commercial truck traffic and the noise and exhaust disrespects the bucolic nature of the Village of North Hatley.

– Beaucoup de camions passent. La vitesse des véhicules devant notre maison est beaucoup trop grande. C’est dangereux de sortir de chez nous. 40 km/h serait indiqué

– These trucks threaten the beauty, tranquility and uniqueness of North Hatley. They are an obscene presence and should not be allowed to pollute the air and disturb the peace.

– Why designate a one of “Les Plus Belles villages du Québec” a truck route?

– Oui. Il est temps que ce beau village retrouve un minimum de paix.

– La sécurité et la qualité de vie des résidents et résidentes est primordiale.

– Reduce number of trucks passing through village

– it is crazy to have huge trucks zooming down the streets of a lakeside village

– Traffic on our section of Route 108 with houses and driveways on both sides is particularly dense – the roadway is narrowed by cycling lanes on both sides, no room for sidewalks; there are also municipal garages on both sides,; a fire station; a church; the main village parking lot; the Farmers market traffic on Saturday; the cycling lane on both sides of the road which bikes must share with joggers, walkers and their dogs and/or kids; a crossing for bikes and pedestrians into the parking lot; a commercial garage; and all of this near a curve which blocks sight lines to the intersection at the lake, with a park, Magog Rd and Main (bridge to village centre) just beyond the curve. And many motorcycles use this road to come into our village, and locals exit and return by this road to commute to our nearest big towns, Sherbrooke or Magog. Putting an 18-wheeler or any large truck into this mix is sheer recklessness.. We need to insist that this section of route 108 is not safe for large trucks. Local deliveries to the grocery store must be allowed, but speed limits must be reduced.

– Too many big trucks rushing along our street

– Yes! I have lived on the road for almost 50 years & the situation is dire with no sidewalks, increasing bike, pedestrian traffic. Heavy, large trucks & speeding cars, motorcycles in the mix are a recipe for predictable accidents.

– Bonne chance avec nos marionnettes politiques. Ils ne sont pas concernés par nos inconvénients. La meilleure solution est d’établir un péage pour les véhicules lourds qui ne font que passer par North Hatley. 5.00 par camion ou attendre 15 minutes. Ils vont faire le détour… Time is money…