After two children were hit by vehicles within just days, Windsor's Ward 4 City Councillor admitted phone calls from concerned residents have flooded in.
In the latest incident, a six-year-old boy suffered serious injuries when he was struck on Gladstone Avenue on Wednesday. On Sunday, another child was hit on Riverside Drive East near Langlois Avenue.
Chris Holt said residents are demanding new traffic calming measures, but he doesn't believe speed bumps and more four-way stops will address the real issue.
He is calling for a cultural change, a simple one, for drivers to slow down on neighbourhood streets.
Holt said many measures cities take to slow traffic down are already in place in Walkerville, including narrow streets, street parking, and frequent stops, but if drivers don't change their habits, children are at risk.
"The suburbs in South Windsor and East Windsor have it much worse because their roads are much wider, much longer, much straighter," he said.
The city could put tenders out immediately to change those roads, but it won't do much to help children presently. He believes a change in attitude is more effective.
"What we can do about it is incredibly difficult," said Holt. "The vast majority of the people are either guilty of it themselves or they're guilty of letting their loved ones of having this attitude, and unfortunately cultural change is very, very difficult."
Then there are the calls for increased enforcement.
"That's not wrong," he replied. "But, the moment we move Windsor Police over to heavily enforce one area, they will move over to another area. That's not a sustainable argument either. "
Holt wants to hold a public meeting, bringing residents, school board officials, police, and city staff together to brainstorm ideas and educate the public about what the city is currently doing. His plans are in the early stages. He doesn't have a date or venue yet.
"It's going to take all of our attention. It's going to take city council unifying around the idea of slowing traffic around the city. We all need to be on board for it," said Holt.