Default speed limit drops to 40 km/h on Aug. 6
Edmonton's new default speed limit in residential and downtown areas will take effect in one month.
Starting Aug. 6, the speed limit in those areas will drop from 50 km/h to 40 km/h.
According to the director of the city's Safe Mobility program, people who are struck by a vehicle at the lower speed are much more likely to survive the crash.
"So what we're doing is we're really increasing safety for people who are living in their neighbourhoods," Jessica Lamarre told media on Friday, speaking on a sidewalk in King Edward Park community, whose residents will be some of many across the city affected by the change.
"We're using streets for more than just vehicle travel. We're using them to gather as a community, to go to the playground, to walk to school, and so we want to make those streets more safer and really to create a space that's more livable for everyone."
"The number one neighbourhood concern on any citizen survey we've given, all the way back to the early 90s before I started… has been traffic," Insp. Keith Johnson, who leads Edmonton Police Service's traffic services branch, added. "It's speed, it's distracted driving. It's going through stop signs."
GRACE PERIOD
The city is launching a public awareness campaign to tell people about the change, and drivers will have a grace period from Aug. 6 to Sept. 1 to get used to it.
During those weeks leading up to the new school year, people caught violating the rule will receive a warning rather than ticket, unless they're caught violating traffic laws excessively.
Lamarre said the city's research suggests the large majority of Edmontonians respect speed limits, and so she doesn't expect "huge jumps" in enforcement.
Signs will also be posted at city limits to inform drivers coming into the city.
Both Lamarre and the EPS have touted the change as one supportive of the city's Vision Zero goal by 2032.
According to Johnson, EPS' major collisions unit is investigating 10 fatal crashes in 2021. It counted 12 I 2020.
Lowering the default speed limit cost the city $1 million and was funded by the Traffic Safety Automated Enforcement Reserve, not tax levy.
A map of the changes and more information is available online.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 mm among weather alerts in effect for 7 provinces
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 millimetres, air quality advisories and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces, according to the latest forecasts.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
A fight to protect the dignity of Michelangelo's David raises questions about freedom of expression
Michelangelo's David has been a towering figure in Italian culture since its completion in 1504. But in the current era of the quick buck, curators worry the marble statue's religious and political significance is being diminished.
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
What new auto insurance reforms will mean for Ontarians, if they get introduced
Ontario has among the highest rates for auto insurance premiums in Canada -- just below Alberta and Nova Scotia -- however, the introduction of an insurance reform in the provincial budget could soon lower prices.