Lower speed limit to reduce pedestrian deaths: Coroner

Ontario’s chief coroner has recommended the speed limit on residential streets be reduced to 30 km/hr from the current speed limit of 40 km/hr.

The recommendation, in a report released Wednesday, is one 26 that stem from a review into pedestrian deaths in the province.

The study looked at the deaths of 95 pedestrians who died in Ontario between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2010.

Vehicle speed was one of the main factors that contributed to pedestrian deaths. The report said 67 per cent of deaths occurred on roads with posted speeds beyond 50 km/hr and only five per cent on roads below that speed limit.

The report also found that about 20 per cent of pedestrians may have been distracted by using a cell phone, walking a dog or pushing a shopping cart at the time they were hit.

Other findings in the report:

Other recommendations from the report include reducing the default speed limit where signs are not posted 40 km/hr from 50 km/hr on residential streets and developing a “walking strategy” which encourages municipalities to develop plans for safe and convenient ways for pedestrians to get around.

Speed limits in Gatineau were recently reduced to 30 km/hr near school zones and playgrounds.

About 100 pedestrians are killed in Ontario each year.

With a report from CTV Ottawa’s Catherine Lathem