SASKATOON — Saskatoon City Council’s Standing Policy Committee on Transportation will discuss reducing speed limits in residential streets when they meet on Tuesday, Sept. 7.
The administration is recommending speed limit on local and collector streets in residential areas be brought down to 40 kilometers per hour. The committee will further debate on the issue in a separate city council meeting on Sept. 30
The council asked the administration in 2018 to develop a detailed framework for revising posted speed limits on neighbourhood streets. Council members have received repeated concerns over speeding, and these concerns were also expressed at neighbourhood traffic review engagement events.
A report with technical information and survey results from residents following a review of the issue was presented to the Transportation Committee in June. The collision data and traffic safety best practices validate that lower speeds on residential streets will reduce the number of collisions and the seriousness of traffic-related injury and fatalities.
The majority (65 per cent) of respondents from an open survey (14,970 respondents) prefer no change to the speed limit on all streets, whereas about half (52 per cent of a third-party supplemental survey (414 respondents from a cross-section of neighbourhoods and demographics) prefer a speed limit lower than 50 kph on local streets in residential areas.
The administration prepared options for the committee’s consideration after an extensive review of speed data on local and collector streets in Saskatoon’s residential neighbourhoods and a review of speed limits in other Canadian cities.
Once city council decides about changing speed limits, the administration will present options for speed limits in school and playground zones, as well as areas of high concentration of seniors and dedicated neighbourhood bikeways. An overall implementation plan will follow based on the final direction from city council.
