The 40 km/h speed signs on Riel Drive will be coming down, and the speed will be going back up after council reversed part of its decision to reduce speeds on neighbourhood roads, council heard on July 5.
Earlier, on Feb. 16, council amended the traffic bylaw to reduce speed limits of 50 km/h to 40 km/h on neighbourhood roads. These roads include both collector and local roads, and encompass industrial, residential, and commercial areas.
As a result of the bylaw, roads such as Inglewood Drive, Muir Drive, and Riel Industrial Area roadways were reduced to a 40 km/h limit.
Mayor Cathy Heron said she had implemented the Feb. 16 changes with residential areas in mind, and that when she had read neighbourhoods she had thought of "houses and kids and dogs."
"The changes were never intended to slow down business areas and make doing business in St. Albert more difficult," Heron said.
Dean Schick, St. Albert's transportation manager, explained that the amendment before council on July 5 would restore some city roads to their previous speeds. The recent change will specify that both collector and local residential roadways are to be kept at 40 km/h, but industrial and commercial adjacent roadways will be brought back up to 50 km/h, returning roads such as Riel Drive to its previous speed.
The Feb. 16 motion initially came about after the city reviewed the Transportation Association of Canada guidelines for speed limits. In addition to introducing new neighbourhood speeds, the bylaw had also established playground zones and school zones.
Schick said that before the Feb. 16 amendment, the city had engaged the public on whether there was support for reduced speeds. Schick said this engagement captured about 45-per-cent support for overall reduced speeds, but noted that neighbourhood roadway types were not distinguished as residential or commercial during these surveys.
According to Schick, collision data supports returning the roads to their initial speeds. He said the city can continue to perform screening for safety and operational information as time goes on.
After the bill passed unanimously, Coun. Natalie Joly asked how quickly the 40 km/h signs could be taken down from Riel Drive.
"I suspect we can have them taken down within a week," Schick said.
