This week, City Administration will be bringing two draft bylaws before the Community and Public Services Committee regarding speed reductions. The first seeks to reset the city-wide default speed limit to 40 km/hr on both local and collector residential roadways and the second is to establish a ”Core Zone” where residential roads are further reduced to 30 km/h. Administration was directed by Committee back in May 2019 to undertake this initiative in response to a need for Edmonton to increase safety and liveability for all residents. It is very important to note that these changes are only for residential roads and do not include major arterial roads such as 178 Street or Callingwood Road in Ward 5. We will also be considering additional recommendations from Administration, such as lowering speeds on major pedestrian thoroughfares and planning for exclusions on roadways that would not support a lowered speed limit. When these proposals came before Council last May, I chose to vote in favour of 40km/hr city-wide, but voted against the Core Zone proposal, although ultimately both passed. I believe there is a balance to strike between making our city a safer, more liveable place for pedestrians and not imposing measures that are inconsistent and may lead to non-compliance. I continue to have questions around the ease of implementing the additional Core Zone and will be bringing those questions to Administration on Wednesday. If you would like to read a bit more background on my vote last May, my previous blog post can be found here. I was and remain impressed by the engagement we saw from the public on this issue when it first came through Council and I am looking forward to seeing that engagement continue. I would encourage you to read more about the details at edmonton.ca/safespeeds and take some time to try the Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) Tool to see how your drive would change. I will continue to share my thoughts with constituents throughout the process. If you would like to provide input or speak at Committee tomorrow, you can still do so by visting here. You are also welcome to reach out to my office directly about this or any other City Council issues by phone at 780-496-8120, via email at sarah.hamilton@edmonton.ca, or on Twitter @sjlhamilton.
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