There’s Safety In Numbers; The Number is 40KM/H.
Today Edmonton’s residential speed limits went from 50km/h to 40km/h on residential streets throughout the city. This change makes roads safer, communities more family-friendly, without really impacting your commute time. Here are some facts about the changes:
1. Reducing residential speed limits will not noticeably increase your commute time.
Delays are frustrating. Drivers need to get to destinations without major delays or roadblocks. I drive, too; work, picking up kids from school, to sports practice, to the grocery store, etc. The good news is that reducing the residential speed limit does not increase commute time. I asked the City to create an app that would show the impacts of a 10km/h reduction. My commute, from Cy Becker to City Hall, is increased by 7 seconds. Test your commute time here.
2. Reducing the speed limit in our neighbourhoods will save lives.
People in Ward 4 tell me all the time that they expect communities where kids play outside and feel safe, families can ride their bikes to go for a stroll, and the neighbourhood roads are safe from collisions. Toronto reduced their neighbourhood speed limits and a study just released shows it’s now a lot safer to walk through communities. According to the study, the number of people on foot killed or seriously injured dropped 67 percent. Speed is a factor in every single collision and this change protects the lives of our friends and family members. Here is all the data our city collected about safety in our communities.
3. These changes would be paid for by the Traffic Safety and Automated Enforcement Reserve (TSAER) fund, and save money.
The TSAER fund is where all of the photo radar and road enforcement tickets are pooled. We will be using fines from unsafe behaviour to make our communities more welcoming and safe for our families.
Additional savings occur as we reduce the need for as many emergency services calls, long term health care, and loss of ability to work. Over time this becomes a major investment for Edmontonians.
4. Arterial roads in the residential areas will not be impacted.
The City does not want to slow your commute so most collector roads speed limits will not be reduced. The proposed changes only impact the roads on the map with grey. Here is more information for changes across the city.
We’re all part of our community, whether we drive, walk, bike, or take transit – and most people do it all. This change is a fair trade-off: lower speeds to save lives. If you have comments or questions that you want to share, call or email at 780-496-8138 or aaron.paquette@edmonton.ca.
