Lowering speed limits at schools ‘long overdue’

The speed limits along roads where there are schools in Peterborough will likely be lowered soon to 40 kilometres per hour, and in some cases to 30 km/h.

“I do believe this is very proactive,” said Coun. Alex Bierk at a committee meeting Monday.

“To (city) staff: congratulations. This is long overdue,” said Coun. Kevin Duguay.

Councillors gave preliminary approval to this new staff recommendation at the committee meeting Monday, on a unanimous vote.

The approval is preliminary: it needs a final vote at a city council meting on June 26 to be a done deal.

The idea is to create school safety zones around all of Peterborough’s 30 elementary and secondary schools.

In these zones, the speed limit — generally 50 km/h, in the city — would be reduced to 40 km/h when the school is on an arterial road, and to 30 km/h when the school is on a local road or low-capacity collector.

The zones would be marked with new signage.

Coun. Lesley Parnell said that enforcement will be key.

She said that in her ward, some areas around schools with lowered speed limits — even with flashing lights — don’t necessarily stop motorists from speeding.

Those roads “are still speedways” unless there is enforcement, she said.

Coun. Keith Riel said that until there is photo radar, people will still speed.

But Coun. Joy Lachica said that lowering speed limits is needed — even though it may not be a solution for all speeding.

“No, signs (indicating lowered speed limits) won’t solve everything — but it’s a beginning,” she said.

Councillors are also interested in installing additional road safety treatments — pavement markings, traffic delineators and electronic driver feedback signs — around five different school areas in the city (one in each of the city’s wards) as a pilot to see whether the measures help decrease speed.

The five school areas are:

■ St. Patrick School (300 Otonabee Dr.)

■ Ecole Catholique MonseigneurJamot (2350 Woodglade Blvd.)

■ St. Alphonsus School (875 St. Marys St.) and Keith Wightman Public School (860 St. Marys St.)

■ Queen Mary Public School (1145 Monaghan Rd.)

Coun. Matt Crowley asked city staff at the meeting whether the speed limit could be lowered to 40 km/h along Woodglade Boulevard — near Ecole Catholique Monseigneur-Jamot — from Glenforest Boulevard all the way south to Kawartha Heights Boulevard (rather than stopping at Sherbrooke Street, as the city staff report proposes).

He was told it could be extended that far.