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City considers pilot projects for 40 km/h speed limit

Report will detail how much it would cost, and what areas of the city should be targeted
2017-08-speed-limit-40-sign-google-jw
Photo/Google Maps

City-wide speed limits won't be dropping to 40 km/h any time soon, but on Monday, city councillors approved a plan that would look at dropping the limit in some areas of the city as a pilot project.

Or more exactly, the operations committee approved having staff prepare a report on how much each pilot project would cost, and which areas in each city ward would be targeted. That report is due in the first quarter of 2020.

Currently, the Ontario Highway Traffic Act sets 50 k/h as the limit in residential areas, known as the statutory speed limit. Lower speed limits – known as gateway limits – are now easier to implement because the Act was changed that greatly reduced the number of road signs needed to be erected to lower the limit.

A 2013 city staff report estimated it would cost about $2.5 million to replace speed limit signs, and the annual maintenance budget would have to be increased by $125,000 a year. With the changes, the cost of switching to the lower limit would be $320,000, with an added $8,170 in maintenance costs each year. 

But city staff had recommended waiting until the city was in a better position to enforce the lower limit through traffic calming – physically changing the design of the road to make it harder to speed – and red light cameras, which are expected to come before the end of 2020.

The reason is that repeated studies have shown that lower speed limits don't slow drivers down, unless there is long-term police enforcement, something that is costly and would lead to less traffic  enforcement in more historically dangerous areas. 

A study of 121,660 vehicles in a 40 km/h zone found the average speed was 47 km/h, compared to 48 km/h found in studies involving more than one million vehicles travelling on roads where the limit is 50 km/h.

But Ward 1 Coun. Mark Signoretti said many people in his ward want the lower speed limit sooner rather than later. 

“If you reduce it to 40” someone who drives 56 km/h in a 50 km/h zone is less likely to exceed the limit by 16 km if the limit is 40.

But Joe Rocca, the city's traffic and asset management supervisor, said studies have shown people don't slow down because of posted speed limits. 

“If there’s no police there, it won’t have an impact,” he said. “Vehicles don’t change their speeds because of a sign.”

When Signoretti asked how much it would cost to add more enforcement, Tony Cecutti, the city's GM of infrastructure, said it hasn't been studied, but it would be substantial.

Re-engineering the streets through calming measures is cheaper and permanently reduces speed, Cecutti said.

“If we can focus the investment in areas that really need attention,” they can make a bigger impact for less than hiring a bunch of people, he said.

But Ward 12 Coun. Joscelyne Landry-Altmann said areas in her ward have been waiting for such measure for years – one street has been on the list for 12 years.

“Traffic calming takes forever,” Landry-Altmann said. “We haven’t seen any movement.”

When she asked about red light cameras, Rocca said the province is doing public consultations on the plan, and staff expects a report on it in late spring or summer to provide details.

In the meantime, the city has started its flexible bollard program, a cheap way to calm traffic using temporary posts installed along targeted streets. 

“Early feedback from residents in those areas has been very positive,” Rocca said.

Cecutti said implementing lower speeds on local roads before calming measures are in place would likely not be effective.

“We don’t recommend a blanket speed reduction across the city at this time,” he said. “If there’s a specific area of the city that requires attention, it might be an appropriate approach for that subdivision.”

Landry-Altmann and Ward 11 Coun. Bill Leduc argued lower limits could be tried as a pilot project in areas of their wards that receive a lot of complaints to see if they succeed in slowing traffic down.

But Ward 9 Coun. Deb McIntosh, who chairs the committee, said every councillor has similar areas in their wards.

“We’re going to have 12 pilot projects before we’re done,” McIntosh said.

And Cecutti said they normally don't install new signs as we get close to winter, and no budget has been established to pay for the pilot projects.

In the end, the committee approved having staff prepare a report on the costs of each pilot project and which areas would be most suited.


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