Detlor Road Isn’t A Racetrack

Detlor road isn’t a racetrack

By Kelly Wallace

Everyone affiliated with Think Turtle Conservation Initiative is extremely pleased to learn that the Bancroft Town Council is considering reducing the speed limit along Detlor Road that connects Highway 62 in L’amable to Highway 28 in Bancroft.

Where the turtles go, we go, and that often has us working on roadsides and in a perfect position to observe speeding motorists. Having spent a considerable amount of time on Detlor Road each year monitoring turtle activity and traveling the full extent of this road for conservation-related reasons, we have a long-standing history with this road, some of which we would like to share having strived to curtail speeding along Detlor Road in our way.

In 2017, when I was involved in turtle conservation independently, I met with former Public Works Manager Perry Kelly to discuss high-risk turtle road mortality hot spots in the Bancroft area. At the time, I was gathering turtle sighting data to submit to the MTO to substantiate requests for turtle awareness signs along Highway 62 between Bancroft and Madoc. While doing this, other hot spots were identified on secondary roads. During the meeting, I emphasized that eyewitness accounts and data supported that Detlor Road, from the Dungannon Waste Site to Highway 62, is a particularly concerning location for turtles that routinely cross the road from April through October along with other animals and area pets, primarily cats.

To encourage motorists to slow down along Detlor Road, where turtles cross at several locations, the newly founded Think Turtle Conservation Initiative obtained permission from Perry Kelly in the spring of 2018 to install temporary coroplast turtle awareness signs. This initiative helped a bit, but turtles and other animals are no match for speeding vehicles, and there were more road mortality incidents.

In 2019, the area endured a horrendous loss when a reckless morning commuter ran over a Snapping Turtle that crossed Detlor Road each year to nest nearby; the turtle was well over 30 years old. This incident and others that followed in 2019 – 2020 heightened concerns regarding speeding and its impact on the local turtle population and other animals. As a result, we approached the Public Works Department with a request to upgrade our signage from temporary to permanent Turtle Crossing signs on Detlor Road, along with other locations in Bancroft. The initiative was approved. Think Turtle purchased and supplied diamond-shaped metal turtle crossing signs; they were installed in April 2021.

Much to our disappointment, turtle-crossing sign thefts that followed interfered with raising awareness to the degree we had hoped to. Fortunately, the signs on Detlor Road, nearest Highway 62, remained intact. Less turtle road mortality was observed and reported during turtle season 2021, but this was more in relation to less turtle activity overall due to the weather patterns that season.

On June 7, 2022, a Canadian Goose was struck by a vehicle and died in the same area turtles cross on Detlor Road near Highway 62., leaving her goslings to fend for themselves. This outcome did not fare well; there were further losses without parental care. It was a disturbing situation that should not have occurred.

A disappointing turn of effects occurred in the autumn of 2023 when someone had a go at stealing the turtle crossing signs installed on Detlor Road near the L’amable intersection. We suspect the persons were spotted in the act by a passerby, after which they abandoned the signs. These turtle crossing signs are in storage to be installed in the spring again.

Through our observations and area, residents who help keep an eye on the turtles, we all agree Detlor Road has become a more heavily traveled road with an increased frequency of speeding motorists.

With multiple bodies of water in the area and turtles having a strong affinity for their foraging and nesting grounds and home range, it is unsurprising that turtles cross Detlor Road at various sites between Highway 62 and Highway 28. The stretch of road encompassing Dungannon Waste Site to Highway 62 along Detlor Road remains one of Bancroft’s most high-risk secondary road mortality hot spots, primarily due to speeding motorists.

Turtle species native to Ontario and Canada are officially designated at-risk species and warrant extra protections to safeguard them from the threat of extinction. Specific efforts to protect this species are crucial, not because turtles are more important than other animals. It stems from the challenges they face, making up for losses. The adult turtles necessitate the breeding pool. Due to habitat loss, road mortality, poaching, pollution, climate change, and other factors, they struggle to survive to reach sexual maturity, e.g., upwards of 17 to 20 years for species such as Blanding’s and Snapping turtles. This presents a problem as they are essential for repopulation. Adding to this is the stark reality that the survival rate for turtle nests and hatchlings in the wild is less than 1%. The turtle species cannot sustain yearly losses and is hard-pressed to repopulate. Thus, strategies to minimize further impacts on this vulnerable species are necessary and significant.

Although our conservation work, through the years, has focused on helping turtles, it has always been our belief that installing awareness signs along Detlor Road and other road mortality hot spots would give motorists cause to slow down and stay alert, which benefits all who use the roads, people and animals alike. Speeding is a constant concern along this road, which property owners along Detlor Road can attest to, and year in and year out, we have seen all manner of animal fatalities while engaged in conservation pursuits. We agree wholeheartedly that it is time for a more proactive approach to slowing motorists down on Detlor Road for everyone’s safety. It is distressing that motorists treat community roadways like racetracks, which is too often the case along Detlor Road.

We have archived electronic letters and photos available upon request, should these records be helpful for Town Council or stakeholders to review.

Speeding reduces fuel efficiency, meaning it costs more to drive fast. As we see it, slowing down is a no-brainer.

Thank you from the Think Turtle Team and residents along Detlor Road, many of whom we know, like us, fully support reducing the speed limit and are grateful for the Township’s commitment to addressing the dangerous driving practices that put people and animals in harm’s way along Detlor Road.

To contact the author, e-mail thinkturtle@yahoo.com or visit the Think Turtle Conservation Initiative website at http://www.thinkturtle.ca

Newspaper Article (Print): Wallace, K. (2024, January 24). Detlor road isn’t a racetrack. The Bancroft Times, p. 4 – 5.

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