Speed limit lowered to 40 in neighbourhood pilot test

Three neighbourhoods in Kitchener will have their speed limits reduced from 50 km/hr to 40 km/hr for the next year as part of a traffic calming pilot project.

The City of Kitchener is launching its Safer, Slower Speeds pilot project Monday in areas where its received the most complaints from residents.

The manager of transportation for the City of Kitchener, Aaron McCrimmon-Jones, says the city wants to determine if changing the speed limit for an entire neighbourhood would actuallylower vehicle speeds.

"We know that changing the speed limit in isolation or in one-off roads from 50 to 40 km an hour doesn't always have the impact that we're looking for. We've tested that across the city," said McCrimmon-Jones. "But the approach that we're trying this time is focused on shifting driver behaviour of an entire community and neighborhood."

3 neighbourhoods selected

• Zone One is bounded by Fischer Hallman Road, Huron Natural Area and Huron Road.

• Zone Two is bounded by Homer Watson Boulevard, Conestoga College Boulevard, New Dundee Road, Reidel Road, Caryndale Drive, Stauffer Drive, Tilts Bush and Schneider Greenway.

• Zone Three is bounded by River Road East, Ottawa Street North, Lackner Boulevard and Fairway Road North.

Public feedback important

One of the areas chosen for the pilot project is in Ward 5 which is represented by councillor Kelly Galloway-Sealock.

She says the next year will give council a chance to get data in order to determine if its the right direction to go in.

"Areas that are part of the pilot project [will] be examined with traffic counters, with police, various different methods to analyze and see what data we can get back," said Galloway-Sealock. "Also, feedback from the residents will be important and see if it's something that we want to do citywide."

Each neighbourhood entry and exit point will have bright new signs to tell drivers they are entering a neighbourhood with a new 40 km/h speed limit. School zones located in those neighbourhoods will see speed limits lowered to 30 km/hr.

As well, homeowners in those neighbourhoods will receive direct mailouts as part of the education and communication campaign.

The city's transportation team will collect data throughout the year and report to Kitchener city council in the fall of 2020.