As children return to school this week, the City of Calgary will be debating whether to drop the speed limit on residential streets to 30 km/h with the goal of saving lives.
There were 517 pedestrians struck by vehicles in the city in 2017 and two of them died. So far in 2018, there have been 261 pedestrians struck and three deaths.
Coun. Druh Farrell, who is asking her fellow councillors to support dropping the speed limits, points to a study from the World Health Organization that says pedestrians struck at 50 km/h have only a 20 per cent chance of surviving while those struck at 30 km/h have a 90 per cent chance of surviving.
“We're finding that the majority of injuries for children specifically happen on residential streets,” Farrell said.
Coun. Evan Wooley said that road safety is the “number one issue” heard by councillors when door-knocking, and he supports the move.
“All the evidence we've been shown shows death and injury collapses as we reduce speed limits,” he said.
So far, six of the city’s 14 councillors have come out in support the motion, which will be debated on Sept. 10.
Not all residents think it’s a good idea, however. Some told CTV Calgary they are concerned it will add to their commuting times.
But Farrell said that very little commuting takes place on residential streets and she is not seeking changes for major streets.
Lower limits have already been hotly debated in other cities, including Toronto, where they were reduced to 30 km/h on residential streets in the downtown and East York neigbourhood in Sept. 2015.
It’s not clear whether the move has had an impact. Pedestrian deaths have remained stubbornly high in Toronto. There were 40 in 2013, 31 in 2014, 39 in 2015, 43 in 2016 and 36 in 2017.
Toronto’s plan to reduce pedestrian deaths also includes special markings on routes children use to walk to school, pole-mounted signs that display speeds, more crossing guards and a doubling of red light cameras.
Montreal said last year that it planned reduce speed limits on residential streets to 30 km/h by 2019. Some boroughs in the city have already seen the change.
With a report from CTV Calgary’s Jordan Kanygin
