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Regina is taking a closer look at safety in school zones and that could include a drop in the speed limit.
A special traffic committee made up of city staff, police and school boards, among others, were tasked with seeing what improvements could be made to improve safety.
The committee is in favour of dropping the speed to 30 km/h, based on the increased survival rate for vehicle crashes involving pedestrians compared to crashes at 40 km/h.
Councillor Mike O’Donnell is in support of lowering the limit, based on what he’s heard from residents in his ward.
“There was a number of incidents that were happening where parents were wanting to drop their kids off at school and so they were parking in front of the school and creating a havoc and so people were getting frustrated and, I’ll say, whipping around those cars,” he explained.
O’Donnell said the 30 km/h limit is common in other western Canadian cities.
“I also see signage attached that when somebody slows down or stops in a school zone you cannot pass, and I’m very big on that one as well.”
Besides signage, the traffic committee also looked at improvements to crosswalks and the use of curb extensions.
School zone hours also have the potential to change. It’s something O’Donnell has heard about too.
“I started hearing from residents who say, ‘Yeah, but why do school zones run from so early in the morning to so late at night and on the weekends?'” he said.
No hard decision will likely be made anytime soon. City administration intends to present a series of recommendations back to the city’s executive committee during the second quarter of 2018.
