Ward 85 councillor Zoné Hughes offers guidelines for getting petitions approved by municipal entities
Traffic calming measures among the most common types of petition submissions
Do not underestimate the community’s voice to make an important change.
Residents and community members are better placed to observe common behaviours and spot potential dangers than the officials in offices. For communities who sense the need for measures that could improve their daily lives, they are able to approach the municipality via petition. Traffic-calming measures are among the most sought-after solutions, and Ward 85 councillor Zoné Hughes elaborated on the process.
Once a resident identifies an area of concern, compiling the petition must begin. Many may think the volume of signatures is a defining factor but several matters are taken into consideration. “The minimum number is one signature; however as a rule it is expected that at least 67% of the people living in a road for which a traffic calming measure is being petitioned for, signs the petition,” stated Zoné.
“However, usually before a petition is handed in residents need to get a letter from the councillor, get a letter of support from the Regional Director, as well as a letter of support from the JMPD unit responsible for speed law enforcement,” added the councillor, who has recently been dealing with a petition for speed bumps in a street in Helderkruin. Once complied, the petition needs to be submitted to the petitions office in the Speaker of Council’s office.
When the submission is received by the petitions office, a receipt and reference number will be issued in order for the residents and ward councillor to follow up with. “After the petition is submitted by the residents it will be sent to JRA for further consideration, as well as to the Petitions Committee for consideration and approval, or rejection in some cases,” she said.
From that point, the wait begins for an outcome. “After the petition has been submitted the time frame for receiving feedback with regards to the petition is between three and six months, and might sometime take longer depending on the petitions backlog in the City. If a petition is declined, the entity gets in contact with the resident who launched the petition and the petitioner then has to sign the outcome of the petition.”
Residents may not be pleased with the decision and are able to dispute the outcome. “If the petitioner wishes to launch an appeal on the outcome they simply do not sign the outcome and then ask for it to be reconsidered,” she outlined.
Traffic-calming measures do not always require a petition as the councillor clarified, “For a traffic circle, stop sign or new traffic light there is usually no petition needed. For these kinds of road signs all which is needed is for JRA to go out and access the area, and do counts to determine if the above-mentioned traffic signals are indeed needed in the specified area.”
