Speed limit on Vancouver residential streets to be reduced to 30 km/h
Signage coming to 25 neighbourhoods over the next 3 years
Drivers on Vancouver's residential streets will have to motor a little slower now that city council has voted to reduce the speed limits on all minor streets to 30 kilometres an hour.
Mayor Ken Sim said the decision will create safer roads.
"It's just the smart thing," he said on Wednesday.
"We have a lot of different examples around the world where they slowed down the speed limit in residential neighbourhoods [and] they become safer ... the stats are just overwhelmingly positive."
City staff say lowering vehicle speeds from 50 km/h to 30 km/h can reduce pedestrian fatality rates in collisions from 80 per cent to 15 per cent, while also reducing the number of crashes.
The changes affect local streets in residential areas that don't have a centre line.
The current speed limit set by the province is 50 km/h unless otherwise posted, according to a report presented to council Wednesday.
In a phased rollout over three years, staff will install signs with the new speed limits at the entry points of 25 neighbourhood "slow zones."
Council has approved $230,000 for signage and $20,000 for education and monitoring as part of the initiative.
Staff noted it isn't currently possible to install signs on every local street block, as it could cost up to $14 million to place two signs per block on every residential street.
Coun. Pete Fry, who has been advocating for reduced speed limits on side streets for years, said the city wants to make streets safer for residents.
"We want to make sure that folks can walk and cross the ... side streets and not have to risk being run over," he told Gloria Macarenko, guest host of CBC's The Early Edition, on Friday.
"We're supposed to drive with due care and attention," Fry added. "And, obviously, you can't really do that driving 50 [km/h] down the side street with cats, and dogs, and kids, and balls, and who knows what's going on."
Coun. Lisa Dominato said council hopes to change driving behaviour.
"I think really the intention here is to shift driver culture ... we want you to slow down," she said.
"We want to be more mindful of our pedestrians, of our children, our elderly persons who are walking or cycling or scootering."
Council also voted to change the city's speed bump program, eliminating the requirement to survey nearby residents before installing speed bumps.
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With files from Maurice Katz and The Early Edition