Did you know that more enforcement of speeding hasn’t slowed down drivers at school zones? Watch the video and read more below.
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Changing driving behaviour isn’t all about how many speeding tickets the city can issue. Road design also plays a big factor.
This is an example for FUTURE planning of roads, not necessarily a proposal to change Mill Woods Road. To keep pedestrians safe, future roads need to be designed for the speed it is intended. Mill Woods Road is designed as a road for 60kph, wide, no parking for most of the road, and free of obstructions as often running beside empty fields. Modifications in the road design to have shorter pedestrian crossings and parking bays would slow down drivers substantially.
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| Sketch of Mill Woods Road shows it is wide enough for slight modifications to reduce speeding. |
When one drives by Grandin School, it’s extremely rare you’ll find a speeding driver because of several design factors of the 110 Street.
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| Grandin School isn’t the typical school zone, but speeding is less of an issue than others built as school zones. |
In elementary school zones in other areas of the city, the speed limit may be marked at 30kph, but the road design means drivers naturally speed as there is seemingly no risk. It’s clear line of sight as there are no obstructions for the driver, the sidewalk is off the road, the road is 4 lanes wide, no parking is allowed, and several schools are fenced in to prevent kids from wandering onto the street. Some schools don’t even allow a drop off in front of the entrance of the school, the safest place a child could be dropped off and picked up. Of course, road design doesn’t excuse speeding, like a driver recently caught going 110 on a section of Mill Woods Road through a school zone.
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| School zones in Mill Woods were planned well ahead, but as you see, it’s an invitation to speed. |
While it is expensive to redesign roads around school zones, as councillor, I would put forth a low budget plan for school zone barriers. These blue barriers, similar to orange construction signs, would be placed strategically at school zones during school hours.
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| School zone barriers force drivers to slow down. |
All vehicles would be forced to slow down as they maneuver around the barriers. Once the system is set, there would be no need for enforcement, which means no more speeding tickets, and no lives lost.
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| Possible school zone barrier designs. |
There are other possibilities for school zone barriers, such as slowing down late night traffic in high speeding areas along Gateway Boulevard and Whyte Avenue.
Keep our neighbourhoods safe by moving new road designs and school zone barriers forward.
Keep. Moving. Forward.
Vote Ho for city council on February 22.
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