Pedestrian safety was discussed at Edmonton City Hall on Tuesday as city councillors warmed to the idea of adopting a two-tier system for residential speed limits in an attempt to make streets safer for those on foot.
The motion councillors were working on Tuesday afternoon would see 50 kilometre per hour speed limits reduced in residential areas, but they wouldn’t be decreased the same way in each area.
“We’re talking about reducing it either to 40 [km/h] in the suburban areas [and] maybe to 30 [km/h] in the core areas,” Mayor Don Iveson said. “But that’s separate from the main roads running past neighbourhoods.
“Those would all stay essentially at their current limit.”
LISTEN BELOW: Edmonton city councillors Sarah Hamitlon and Moe Banga speak with Ryan Jespersen on 630 CHED
READ MORE: Edmonton city councillors discuss proposal to reduce residential speed limit
Watch below (From April 24, 2019) The city is one step closer to lowering residential speed limits. Edmonton city council has been looking at dropping them to 40 km/h. But one group hopes to go even lower in the core. Vinesh Pratap reports.
Some issues that came up were how much the changes would slow down transit buses in residential areas and how the changes may impact collector roads. City council was also looking at reducing speeds on major streets like Whyte Avenue.
LISTEN BELOW: Julie Kusiek with Livable Streets and traffic safety advocate Troy Pavlek speak with the 630 CHED Afternoon News
A final decision on residential speed limits was not made on Tuesday. Council requested that city administrators come up with more information about the proposed changes and their potential impact so that a formal public hearing can be held in January 2020.
– With files from 630 CHED’s Scott Johnston and Global News’ Vinesh Pratap