Thanks for delegating and writing this, Melissa. It would seem to me that to truly make streets safer it comes down to their design. People drive 80+ on Bingemans Centre Drive because it’s 4 lanes + bike paint so it feels like a highway. Are you aware if the city’s engineers are changing their standards and designs to evolve with this discussion?
I absolutely agree that design is key for safe streets. My understanding is that lowering the speed limits can help push for future design improvements to better align the design with speed limits. As well, with more automated speed cameras coming to the region, enforcement could increase exponentially, which may also improve safety. Kitchener has adopted a Vision Zero approach and I'm actually doing a bit of a deep dive into that policy right now for a future post, so stay tuned (because design is definitely a big part of a Vision Zero approach).
Fascinating that here in the U.S. it's so natural to add speed bumps and call it a day. Love the intentionality behind your recommendations, especially "separated cycling infrastructure before the speed limit is changed and without impacting other planned projects".
Thanks for delegating and writing this, Melissa. It would seem to me that to truly make streets safer it comes down to their design. People drive 80+ on Bingemans Centre Drive because it’s 4 lanes + bike paint so it feels like a highway. Are you aware if the city’s engineers are changing their standards and designs to evolve with this discussion?
I absolutely agree that design is key for safe streets. My understanding is that lowering the speed limits can help push for future design improvements to better align the design with speed limits. As well, with more automated speed cameras coming to the region, enforcement could increase exponentially, which may also improve safety. Kitchener has adopted a Vision Zero approach and I'm actually doing a bit of a deep dive into that policy right now for a future post, so stay tuned (because design is definitely a big part of a Vision Zero approach).
Fascinating that here in the U.S. it's so natural to add speed bumps and call it a day. Love the intentionality behind your recommendations, especially "separated cycling infrastructure before the speed limit is changed and without impacting other planned projects".
Thanks for reading!
My understanding is that some councillors are hearing frustration from some residents that the new limits are too slow.