Officials for the RM of Morris want to see traffic slow down sooner when coming into Rosenort from the east. Council is asking the Highway Traffic Board to grant a speed reduction on a section of PR 205 near the industrial park in town.

The request asks for the current speed limit of 100 km/h be dropped to 60 km/h starting at Road 2E (Riverside Road) and running west into town. 

The request asks for the current speed limit of 100 km/h be dropped to 60 km/h starting at Road 2E (Riverside Road) and running west into Rosenort on PR 205.

Reeve Ralph Groening said it all comes down to safety.

"We have seen an increase in activity in the industrial park and Westfield Industries as well. We probably have two to three hundred workers coming in every morning, there's additional product coming in...and of course the finished product going out, so we think it's justified," said Groening.

He added this growth is expected to continue, noting one business in the industrial park has doubled it's workforce and production.

Meantime, Council has finally heard back on a speed reduction request it made in 2015 for the community of Lowe Farm, however it's not the answer members were hoping for.

Groening thinks members of the Highway Traffic Board got confused when making the decision.

The original request asked for the 100 km/h speed limit on PTH 23 to be lowered to 70 km/h starting 300 meters east of the access driveway to the Lowe Farm Community Park and running west into town, and then eventually down to 60 km/h to 1st St. East.

Instead, Council has been granted a speed reduction of 60 km/h for a distance of 50 meters east of 1st Street East. An additional reduction, which Council never asked for, was implemented on the west side of Lowe Farm running 150 meters west of PR 332.

This discrepency is just one of four examples outlined in a letter that Groening has sent to Premier Brian Pallister on behalf of the R.M. of Morris.

"We've lost some faith and confidence in the way which the Highway Traffic Board responds to requests. Certainly they haven't been able to deal with our requests in a timely way," said Groening.

The letter encourages Premier Pallister and the Government of Manitoba "to continue down the pathway of finding better ways of taking care of this type of business!".