Calgary’s city council is considering lowering the speed limit in residential areas and some councillors say the change would be in line with a number of other cities around the world.
A motion was put forward by Ward 7 Councillor Druh Farrell to lower the speed limit from 50km/h to 30 km/h and she says the move would make communities more safe and livable.
Farrell says the areas they are looking at are a small part of the commute for most people and lowering the speed limit in those zones will have a negligible effect on travel times.
“For my trip to City Hall, for example, one block is a residential street and then I’m on a major street so we’re not suggesting reducing speed limits on majors or collectors, we’re just talking about those side streets where the majority of Calgarians live,” she said.
Some critics say lowering the limit won’t make much of a difference.
According to the World Health Organization, a pedestrian stands a 90 percent chance of survival if hit by a vehicle travelling at 30 km/h or less and that an increase of 1km/h in mean vehicle speed results in an increase of four to five percent in the incidence of fatal collisions.
Calgary police say 64 pedestrians have been killed on city streets between 2012 and 2017 and only eight percent of those happened on residential streets.
City council was expected to debate the motion on Monday but now it appears it will be pushed to Tuesday.
To view the agenda, click HERE.
