Last month, city council approved a bylaw reducing the speed limit on Municipal Road 80, between Yorkshire Drive and St. Mary Boulevard in Hanmer.
The reduced speed limit from 80 km/h to 70 km/h comes into effect Thursday, the city said in a release Tuesday.
“Signs with the new speed limit will be posted, with warning signs prior to each area,” the release said. “Drivers are asked to watch for the signs and obey the new speed limit.”
The decision comes after the roads department received a petition signed by 37 people who wanted speeds along the busy roadway reduced to 60 km/h from 80 km/h in the area.
“In this area, MR80 has an average annual daily traffic volume of approximately 15,500,” a staff report on the matter says. “The speed limit on MR80 is 80 km/h from approximately 60 metres south of Yorkshire Drive to St. Mary Boulevard and is 60 km/h from St. Mary Boulevard to the Hanmer Mall.”
A speed study in that area of MR80 was conducted in June 2014 about 200 metres north of Yorkshire Drive and recorded the speeds of more than 31,000 vehicles.
The average speed was 82 km/h. According to guidelines the city uses to determine speed limits for municipal roadways, the speed limit for that area should be 70 km/h.
