Toronto & East York Community Council votes to knock down speed limit

TORONTO  – The speed limit on some Toronto streets could soon drop from 40km/hr to 30km/hr.

Members of the Toronto and  East York Community Council unanimously voted to reduce the speed limit on 387 km of local roads Monday evening.

The changes will cost an estimated $1.1 million, something City Council has to approve.

Councillor Josh Matlow has been championing the idea, after 6-year-old Georgia Walsh was struck and killed by a van in Leaside last summer.

The vote is welcomed by Alan Wayne Scott, who’s been advocating for cycling safety.

“We got to start making our city safe for the people that live here, not the people who drive through here,” Scott said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We got to start making our city safe for the people that live here, not the people who drive through here," Scott said.

He added “we’re the vulnerable road users. We take our lives into our hands every day in the city, to move from one point to another. We don’t have 3,000 lbs of machine around us to protect us.”

A report by city staff found that reducing the speed limit would improve safety, but warned that drivers could ignore it.

Transportation Services General Manager Stephen Buckley said ” We have concerns about whether people will actually adhere to the speed limits.

Just simply posting, in our experience, does not lead us to believe that you’re going to see substantial changes.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: Just simply posting, in our experience, does not lead us to believe that you're going to see substantial changes."

Councillor Josh Matlow said “no matter what number we put on the sign, we still expect the police to enforce the regulations. What we’re doing is we’re just setting a new standard.”

The report said “research has indicated that reduced speeds not only reduce the likelihood of a collision but also reduce the severity of injuries when collisions occur.”

The twelve wards affected are:

Ward 14 (Parkdale-High Park)

Ward 18 (Davenport)

Ward 19 (Trinity-Spadina)

Ward 20 (Trinity-Spadina)

Ward 21 (St. Paul’s)

Ward 22 (St. Paul’s)

Ward 27 (Toronto Centre-Rosedale)

Ward 28 (Toronto Centre-Rosedale)

Ward 29 (Toronto-Danforth)

Ward 30 (Toronto-Danforth)

Ward 31 (Beaches-East York)

Ward 32(Beaches-East York)

The report estimates about 4,450 signs would have be changed, 310 traffic signals would have to be adjusted and it would take 2-3 years to complete the work. Councillor Gord Perks said he thinks staff should start swapping signs in September.