SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. — Police in Summerside nabbed more than 70 people for speeding in August while the city's fire department had one of its busiest months in more than a decade.
Coun. Barb Ramsay, chairwoman of the city's police, fire and emergency committee, shared both services' monthly reports during Summerside's regular council meeting at City Hall on Sept. 21.
Overall, Summerside Police Services reported 186 traffic violations, 77 of which were for motorists caught speeding. Police have been conducting a traffic infraction campaign since mid-August which likely played a role, Ramsay said.
"It appears that it is proving to be very successful," she said. "This is a significant increase from recent months."
For July, police only reported 98 traffic violations, according to the department's monthly report in August. Ramsay believes that there wasn't necessarily an increase in violations during
August, but rather more motorists were caught because speeding is an ongoing issue in Summerside.
"We've had many, many complaints about speeding in Summerside," she said. "People just need to slow down."
Summerside Police Services recap:
- Calls for service – 725
- Traffic accidents – 31
- Reported cassaults and threats – 21
- Theft reports - 44
- Impaired driving offences – 3
- Highway Traffic Act charges 186
- Break and enter reports (business and residential) - 9
- Drug enforcement charges – 6
As for Summerside's fire department, there were a total of 42 calls for service throughout August, as compared to 19 in July.
According to the report, it was the department's third busiest month in 15 years, just behind the "great winter" of 2015 at 45 calls and far behind last year's post-tropical storm Dorian at 75 calls.
While those two instances were noteworthy, Ramsay noted that there weren't any particular reasons for the increase in calls in August other than firefighters having responded to six mulch fires.
Summerside Fire Department recap:
- Medical first responder calls - 8
- Mutual aid call - 1
- Alarm panel calls - 12
- Electrical fire - 1
- Structure fires - 2
- Outdoor fire violations - 6
- Mulch fires - 6
- Cancelled calls - 2
- Miscellaneous calls - 4
Daniel Brown is a local journalism initiative reporter, a position funded by the federal government.
