Speed limit on Hunter St. E. lowered to 40 km/h by council
City councillors plan to reduce the speed limit from 50 km/h to 40 km/h along the full length of Hunter St. E., between Burnham St. and Ashburnham Dr.
City staff had recommended a reduction of the speed limit on Hunter St. along a shorter stretch – between Rogers St. and Ashburnham Dr.
The idea was to slow traffic outside King George Public School where a 10-year-old student was struck by a car in November.
But at a special committee meeting on Wednesday, Coun. Keith Riel said he didn’t think councillors should “cherry pick” any one zone and instead reduce the speed limit along all of Hunter St. E.
“Actually, that’s not a bad idea,” said Wayne Jackson, the city’s commissioner of infrastructure and planning.
But Coun. Henry Clarke asked staff whether they think motorists would simply ignore the lower speed limit altogether and travel at 60 km/h along the entire stretch of Hunter St. E.
Clarke wondered whether the lower limit would be more effective if applied strictly to a school zone.
But Jackson said he didn’t think so.
Still, Mayor Daryl Bennett said perhaps a report from city staff on the idea would be appropriate, particularly since Hunter St. E. is “an ambulance corridor” with the county/city ambulance base nearby on Armour Rd.
Bennett was concerned a lower speed limit might slow the traffic too much, causing congestion that could potentially delay ambulances.
But Coun. Diane Therrien said she didn’t think it was necessary to ask staff to write another report when councillors can simply reduce the speed limit and increase safety.
Coun. Dean Pappas also liked the idea of lowering the speed limit along the entire stretch of Hunter St. E. because it helps police curb speeders.
“I think it helps the cops and it helps pedestrians,” he said.
Councillors gave preliminary approval to the plan to decrease the speed limit. It needs a final vote at a council meeting on July 9.
In December, council also agreed to add a morning crossing guard at the Hunter St. E. and Armour Rd. corner .
Also at the general committee meeting :
Transportation Master Plan review
Councillors reviewed a progress update of the city’s Transportation Master Plan from 2012.
The plan was designed to guide the city’s transportation planning until 2031.
According to the status update, the city has completed or gotten started on 60 per cent of the plan’s 102 recommendations for transportation improvement.
The city has already completed the reconstruction of Ashburnham Dr., for instance, as well as the reconstruction of Brealey Dr. between Fleming Dr. and Lansdowne St. W. (both done in 2016).
But Coun. Keith Riel said the city’s transportation department “needs to be more nimble.”
He meant that some road extension plans require environmental assessments that can take up to two years to complete before construction can start, for example.
“You’re studying these things to death,” he told Kevin Jones, the city’s transportation manager.
But Jones said that’s a common complaint for municipalities across Ontario: the provincial government wants EAs done to the letter.
“The province has laid it out clearly: these are the expectations we have to live by,” he said.
Meanwhile, Coun. Henry Clarke asked whether smaller buses could be used in the city on routes that typically take fewer passengers.
Jones said the city could consider it, but that smaller buses don’t last as many years as the larger ones and yet cost roughly the same to operate.
Coun. Gary Baldwin then asked city staff whether transportation plans such as road improvements could occur faster if council used revenues from the new casino, for example.
Wayne Jackson, the city’s commissioner of infrastructure and planning, said yes – but another staff member spoke up to remind councillors of the other costs they are facing.