The Owen Sound police are ready for summer.
Deputy Chief Bill Sornberger told a meeting of the police services board that the CORE (Community Oriented Response and Enforcement) and HEAT (High Enforcement Action Team) units have increased their presence and visibility in the city’s downtown.
Of course, downtown will be busier than usual this summer with the planned replacement of the 9th Street bridge and the reconstruction of the street on both sides of the Sydenham River.
Coincidentally, Sornberger says, 9th Street between 2nd Avenue East and 2nd Avenue West has been the section of road on which more motor vehicle collisions have recently taken place than any other in Owen Sound.
With traffic expected to be much heavier downtown as motorists try to make their way across the city, the deputy Chief says motorists should be sure to leave plenty of time as they plan their trips.
Most of all, drivers should be alert, both in traffic and in situations where they are perhaps taking an unfamiliar route in order to get around the jams.
One such situation may be on 1st Avenue West between 8th and 9th Streets, which has been a one-way street for decades but which will be converted to two-way traffic this summer.