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To lower speed limits in Saskatoon, or to keep them the same? Saskatonians can give their two cents on that matter and a variety of others over the next couple of months in the form of an online survey.
But why is the matter coming up now?
Jay Magus, the City of Saskatoon’s director of transportation, told councillors the mandate for potentially changing speed limits has been in progress for the last several years.
“In 2018, council resolved that a detailed framework for revising posted speed limits on residential streets be developed, a detailed framework for revising posted speed limits in school and playground zones be developed, and a report on options for addressing speeding and safety in area of high concentration of seniors,” he said.
Coun. Hilary Gough said more explanation was needed, and emphasized concerns about speeding have been one of the top issues at City Hall for several years, adding this “didn’t come out of nowhere.”
“I think the piece that’s missing in that background is that it says that we always hear about this during NTRs (Neighbourhood Traffic Reviews), and commonly people will ask for lower speed limits,” Gough said.
She went on to say that when people identify speed as a problem, traffic studies are then conducted, and the city finds most people are travelling below the posted 50-kilometre-per-hour speed limit anyway and then lower speed limits are requested.
“We continue to have people identify speed as an issue, and in the context of knowing that on most streets in most neighborhoods people are going below 50 (km/h),” she said.
Magus also presented councillors with options during his presentation Monday afternoon.
He told them options for residential streets included lowering speed limits to 30 km/h, 40 km/h or leaving them as they are. He also presented vehicle reaction and braking times at each of the three speed limits.
“With reduced travel time, there’s a significant reduction in distance travelled, resulting in a lower risk to pedestrians and cyclists,” he said. “Lowering the speed limit also allows the driver to have a wider field of vision, which again allows them to see more pedestrians and cyclists on and near the road, which again increases the level of safety for vulnerable road users.”
He added that a cyclist has an 85 per cent probability of death if hit by a vehicle travelling 50 km/h. At 30 km/h, it drops to a 10 per cent chance of dying.
It’s not only changing residential speed limits that are a possibility. Magus said that even if speed zones remain the same, other changes can be made.
“Maybe there are revisions to the school zones,” he said. “Perhaps playground zones are created, and our new seniors zones with speed limits are created.”
Whether to include arterial roads like Preston Avenue, Taylor Street, 33rd Street West, Clarence Avenue and other busy thoroughfares in the potential speed limit reductions was also on the table.
An online survey will be posted to the City of Saskatoon’s website for the next two months. The feedback from that will be gathered and included in a report that will be presented to city council later this year.
If there are any speed limit changes, they wouldn’t likely happen until sometime in 2022. Along with the online survey, residents can also submit their comments to speedlimitreview@saskatoon.ca.