Speed limits may be lowered to 40 km/h on Kitchener streets with sharrows

The City of Kitchener is considering establishing a speed limit of 40 kilometres-per-hour on over a dozen streets that sharrows painted on them. Sharrows are the green road markings with a bicycle and two chevrons that remind motorists and cyclists to share the road.

Want to bring more safety says city transportation manager

CBC News Posted: Aug 18, 2017 11:24 AM EDT | Last Updated: August 18, 2017

The City of Kitchener may establish 40 kilometre per hour speed limits on roadways with sharrows. (Jane van Koeverden/CBC)

The City of Kitchener is looking at establishing a speed limit to 40 km/h on at least a dozen streets that have sharrows painted on them.

Sharrows are the green road markings with a bicycle and two chevrons that remind motorists and cyclists to share the road.

They are on streets mostly in the downtown corridor and areas where there is not enough room for a bicycle lane to be installed.

It's all about safety

Barry Cronkite, Interim Manager of Transportation Planning with the City of Kitchener says the initiative is for the safety of all road users in the community.

"We want to ensure our roadways in the city are safe for everyone," said Cronkite.

Kitchener council votes to add more bicycle sharrows in downtown

"If we can bring more attention to that interaction between the cyclist and the vehicle we should be able to...bring more safety in general terms to everyone within the corridor."

Road locations:

Cedar Street North from Weber Street East to King Street East
Courtland Avenue South from David Street to Queen Street South
Duke Street East from Frederick Street to Cedar Street North
East Avenue from Stirling Avenue North to Borden Avenue North
Heritage Drive from Ottawa Street North to Ottawa Street North
Joseph Street from Victoria Street South to Queen Street South
King Street East from Madison Avenue to Queen Street North
King Street West from Queen Street North to Francis Street South
Nyberg Street from Sydney Street South to Borden Avenue South
Park Street from Victoria Street South to Jubilee Drive
Queen Street North from Duke Street West to Lancaster Street East
Queen Street North from St. George Street to Church Street
Water Street from Jubilee Drive to Joseph Street
Zeller Drive from Lackner Boulevard to Wild Meadow Street

Speeds to drop by fall

Barry Cronkite said if the traffic bylaw is amended at Monday's Community and Infrastructure Services Committee the speed limits would be implemented by the fall.

"Essentially what we'll do is, we'll write this report, we'll change our bylaw and then in the fall we would change the signs so the streets listed there would become 40 kilometre an hour zone."

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