A city committee has tasked City of Edmonton administration to look into the possibility of adding school zones with lower speed limits.
During Wednesday’s Transportation Committee meeting at City Hall, members voted in favour of a motion to have administration draw up a report that included amendments to institute a 30 kilometre per hour speed limit in school zones with elementary students, selected school and playground zones.
“Unless we have school zones where there is a posted black and white sign, police can’t enforce for people who speed,” Councillor Bev Esslinger said. “Our vulnerable students are worth taking the time to slow down.”
The report presented to the committee ahead of Wednesday’s motion states the city hasn’t used or added 30 kilometre per hour speed limits in school zones since the 1970s.
According to the report, past Transportation Committees had asked Transportation Services to look into implementing school zones with lower speed limits – and such reviews were completed in 1996, 2000 and 2005.
Those reviews found that congestion and low speed traffic violations were major problems in those areas during peak times, not speeding, and pedestrian-related collisions during times school zones would be in effect was small involving elementary and high school students were rare.
In all three cases, the Transportation Committee decided to not implement the lower speed limits.
The report requested Wednesday will include a look at costs for signage around schools and playgrounds, as well as timelines to install the signs and bylaw requirements – in addition to how speed limits would be enforced and how to inform Edmontonians of the changes.
With files from Dez Melenka
