Council approves speed limit reduction to 30 kilometres per hour in school and playground zones starting in September

Swift Current motorists will have to slow to 30 kilometres per hour in playground zones and school zones across the City starting this September.

At Monday’s Swift Current City Council meeting unanimous approval was given to a motion decreasing the existing speed limit of 40 kilometres per hour down to 30 kilometres per hour in all playground and school zones between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. daily on a year round basis.

Police Advisory Committee representative Harvey Lomax spoke at Monday’s meeting and highlighted their committee gave a unanimous thumbs up to the speed reduction. They had discussed the matter during their January and May meetings, and were going to correspond with council about the added safety of the speed reduction but council had already moved forward with the change.

“We felt unanimously as a committee that the slower speed limits that we’re starting to see in some of the larger cities are definitely safer. And that was echoed by members of the committee,” Lomax said.

“So we’re thankful for Council proposing this and we certainly support it whole heartedly. And anything that council can do to make our community safer for families, for children and our grandchildren, we’re really thankful for. So we totally support this amendment.”

Councillor Pat Friesen explained that over the past two years, city administration engaged in a review of their traffic bylaw in consultation with the RCMP, Chinook School Division, School Community Council Committees, and their city traffic consultant. The

review was held with a view of enhancing safety in and around school and playground zones.

“Children tend to think that motor vehicles can stop quickly, because they hold their hand out,” Friesen said. “And believe that if they can see you, you can see them, which isn’t always the case.”

“Studies show that survival rates from pedestrians hit by a vehicle dramatically increase with a slower rate of speed, giving motorists and pedestrians more reaction time in unexpected situations. So this lowering of the speed limit is anticipated to help in this regard, and falls within the trend that, as was mentioned earlier, has been taking place in many other communities around the province.”

She highlighted that the added safety of children easily trumps the few seconds lost during a commute because of the lower speed.

“For that additional 10 seconds of travel time through each zone, drivers can react quicker and stop faster. And heaven forbid that if there is contact ever made, the likelihood of significant injury is greatly reduced as well.”

Council’s bylaw change will also result in the prohibition of U turns in school and playground zones when the reduced speeds are in effect.

The full details of the bylaw change can be viewed at www.swiftcurrent. ca/30km

The results from last month’s Traffic Safety Spotlight on distracted driving are in: during June, law enforcement across the province reported 919 distracted driving offences – 798 were for cell phone use. With numbers like that, it’s no wonder that SGI and law enforcement continue to focus their efforts on distracted driving. Last month, SGI released a new multi-media ad campaign to address distracted driving and to show the human impact. The message of the campaign is clear: distracted driving kills – don’t miss out on life. Visit www.sgi.sk.ca/distracted-driving-kills to see the new campaign. The fine for driving distracted is $280, plus four demerit points under the Safe Driver Recognition program. And, if you get two cell phone tickets within a year, your vehicle will be towed and impounded for a week.