Reduced speed limit pilot starts in select Winnipeg neighbourhoods this weekend

A pilot project kicking off in Winnipeg this weekend will see speed limits drop in some city neighbourhoods.

The city says crews will be out installing new speed limit signage in four pilot neighbourhoods this weekend and next.

Starting this Saturday and Sunday speed limits in Tyndall Park South and Bourkevale will drop to 30 kilometres per hour, while Richmond West will fall to 40 km/h.

Meanwhile, the Worthington neighbourhood will also see speed limits reduced to 40km/km, but not until next Saturday and Sunday.

The lowered speed limits will be in place for roughly a year and are part of a pilot looking at the future of city-wide residential speed limits, the city says.

0:40 Permanent speed limit drop recommended for neighbourhood greenway areas

“The goal of the pilot is to determine whether changing the speed limit in residential areas changes how fast vehicles actually travel, and whether the change affects neighbourhood livability and residents’ quality of life,” the city said in a release Friday.

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Public Works Committee Chair Janice Lukes has previously told Global News she has received positive and negative feedback leading up to the project.

As for whether or not drivers will be ticketed for breaking the newly lowered speed limits, Lukes said that will be up to the police.

“When you change the speed limit on a street, as per the Highway Traffic Act, all the speeds are enforceable by the city,” she said late last month.

“I would like to think that the police would give people warnings because it is a pilot and it’s new. But, you know, the police are going to do what the police want to do.”

Signs advising of the coming speed limit changes were installed in each affected neighbourhood in mid-February.

2:11 Winnipeg an outlier among major Canadian cities that have reduced residential speed limits

Mailers were also sent out to residents with an invitation to take part in a pre-pilot survey.

The city says Winnipeggers will be able to share their thoughts on speed limits in a larger, city-wide engagement early next year.

“What we hear through both phases of engagement will, alongside the traffic analysis, help us make recommendations on the future of city-wide residential neighbourhood speed limits,” the city said.

More information about the pilot is available on the city’s website.