The city of Hamilton expects to launch a website soon that will let people see how fast traffic is going on certain streets from the comfort of their homes.

It'll just be an opportunity for people to go in and view it themselves. - Dave Ferguson, superintendent of traffic engineering

The city plans to make public data from its more than 120 radar message boards across Hamilton and in almost-real time.

The site would likely update every five minutes or so, showing the speed of traffic as it passes flashing signs that show motorists how fast they're going.

"It's just a case of awareness," said Dave Ferguson, superintendent of traffic engineering.

The data is already available to city staff, he said. "It'll just be an opportunity for people to go in and view it themselves."

Such data won't show individual cars, Ferguson said. Rather, it'll likely show factors such as the average speed of vehicles over a certain time period, the highest speed, lowest speed and volume of vehicles over a certain time period.

The city already has this data, and uses it to help manage traffic, he said.

Traffic dominated city council's public works committee Monday, when Shakeel Hanif put a somber face on Waterdown's traffic issues.

Hanif's 10-year-old daughter, Jasmin, was hit and killed near her home on Evans Road last month. Hanif urged better signage, better lighting and lower speed limits on residential roads.

Hanif has started the Jasmin Hanif Foundation to promote road safety.

"You have no idea what I feel today," he told the committee. "I don't want anybody else to feel that way. It hurts. It's painful today, but I'm doing it for my daughter's sake."

Then on the flipside, councillors voted to defer spending $1,370,400 to make Queen Street two-way, and an Ancaster councillor expressed frustration. Arterial roads impact the whole city, he said.

"I am getting really tired of parochial lower city councillors wanting to turn our arterial roads into local streets," he said.

"If you don't want to live on a busy street, then don't buy a house there."

samantha.craggs@cbc.ca | @SamCraggsCBC