Several school zones in Saint John will see lower speed limits this fall.
It’s all part of the ‘Safer School Zones’ project, which aims at educating drivers and improving traffic calming around schools.
Deputy Commissioner Tim O’Reilly says the program helps protect the city’s pedestrians.
“Measures often include installation of signalized cross walks, driver feedback signs, reviewing school zones limits, making recommendations to changes including to the speed limits in those school zones,” he said.
He says changes to the Motor Vehicle Act, which will see speed limits in school zones reduced from 50 km/h to 30 km/h, prompted the decrease.
But O’Reilly says many residents aren’t aware.
“The more roadway users that know the rules of the road and respect them and follow them, the fewer risks are presented to roadway users in the first place. It’s also an important time of year to remind everybody the issues around some of our most vulnerable roadway users, that being students which are pedestrians,” he said.
He says the changes will apply to all middle school and elementary school zones, unless otherwise indicated.
“The only exceptions are a few zones around the city that have posted 40 km/h speed limit signs,” said O’Reilly, which the city lowered a few years ago as a precaution. “When we get the consolidated bylaw back (from the province) we’ll be back to council to recommend removal of those streets so they’ll also be reduced to 30 km/h speed limits.”
Many schools already have implemented the Safer School Zones project. This fall, efforts will be focused at the Samuel De Champlain and Lakewood Schools.
“Proud to say that at the end of 2018, the city would have implemented projects for 13 elementary and middle schools across the city, with six more to go to complete all…so each school will have the traffic calming around them,” he said.
He says the city will be focusing on engineering, enforcement and education in the coming months to prepare motorists for the changes.
Speed limits in school zones are in effect from 7:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. on school days.
