The City of Ottawa is lowering the speed limit on a one-kilometre stretch of Greenbank Road, after a vehicle crashed into a school fence over the summer. On Aug. 6, a vehicle broke through the fence at Knoxdale Public School and into the playground after leaving the Shoppers Drug Mart across the street from the school on Greenbank Road. An Ottawa Paramedic Service spokesperson told CTV News Ottawa the senior driver experienced a medical emergency behind the wheel prior to the crash. On Wednesday, council approved a motion from Coun. Sean Devine to lower the speed limit on Greenbank Road, between Harrison Street and Bellman Drive, from 60 km/h to 50 km/h. “Knoxdale Public School is unique within the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board in that it contains a front-facing kindergarten play yard immediately adjacent to an arterial roadway posted at 60 km/h without a school-area speed reduction,” Devine said. “Comparable OCDSB elementary schools situated along major roadways are subject to lower speed limits or school-zone speed reductions.” Devine said traffic services assessed the Greenbank Road corridor in the area of Knoxdale Public School and Sir Robert Borden High School and determined the recommended speed limit should be 50 km/h. The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board installed three concrete barriers in front of the fence at the schoolyard this week. Earlier this month, parents launched a petition asking the school to relocate outdoor play used by young students to the rear field until vehicle-impact bollards can be installed before the first day of school on Sept. 1. With files from CTV News Ottawa’s William Eltherington
