The people have spoken. Estevan City Council has listened.

Council has backed away from a bylaw that would have dropped the speed limit on Fourth Street from 50 to 40 kilometres per hour. Self-preservation probably factored into Council’s decision-making process, since more than 1,700 people signed a petition that demanded the speed limit remain at 50.

And while some voters have short memories, you can be certain that if Council would have reduced the speed limit, that other voters would have remembered the issue when they submitted their ballots.

The petition failed to specify which blocks of Fourth Street would be affected. And it might not have withstood a legal challenge – not that one was pending – since some of the signatures were from people outside of Estevan.

But the petition served its purpose. It influenced City Council’s opinions.

The person who created the petition, Trent Knobel, deserves credit for not only taking action, but the level-headed, tactful approach he used when speaking to Council last month.

People who say that they don’t have a voice, who say that Council doesn’t listen, have hopefully been silenced. Council was clearly listening. They heard that people were dissatisfied. People who live in Estevan and have a vote were upset. And people who live outside of Estevan, and possibly come into the city on a weekly basis or a daily basis for business and shopping, were also upset.

Hopefully Council’s response to the speed limit issue will teach people that they do have a voice. And hopefully it will lead to better attendance at public meetings.

Council has been discouraged with the turnouts for the long-term planning sessions. Eight people attended a meeting in May. If more people would have been there, they would have heard about some of Council’s plans for Fourth Street, although the 40 kilometre per hour speed limit issue was not addressed at that meeting.

Last year’s long-term planning meeting drew one person, and he was the spouse of a member of Council. There were more reporters at that meeting than members of the public.

Council deservedly took a lot of flack two years after they handed out the garbage contract without a public meeting. Since that time, they have tried to show that they are listening to the people. They have held public meetings on the truck route, recycling, long-term plans and other topics. Those meetings have been met with apathy.

When the public spoke up on the speed limit issue, Council listened and acted.

Don’t sit back and say that Council won’t listen, or that they don’t give you an opportunity to speak up. You have a voice. You have chances. Pay attention. Let your voice be heard. And don’t wait until it’s too late.