Victoria mayor Lisa Helps is supporting a resolution to lower speed limits on some residential streets in Victoria.
The resolution put forth by the City of Vancouver at the Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) convention on Wednesday seeks to reduce speed limits from 50 km/h to 30 km/h in residential areas.
See also: Over half of BC residents want speed limits lowered to 30 km/h on residential streets (POLL)
According to the motion, pedestrians are 90% likely to survive getting hit by a vehicle travelling 30 km/h, while chances of survival reduce to 20% for vehicles going 50 km/h.
The proposal also cites a recommendation from the British Columbia-based Road Safety Law Reform Group in 2016 which states that a default 30 km/h speed limit for residential areas should be set in BC, with individual municipalities having the power to raise limits for individual streets on a case-by-case basis.
To conclude, the resolution seeks an amendment to the Motor Vehicle Act that would allow incorporated municipalities to institute blanket speed zones in residential areas.
The lowering of speed limits on all neighbourhood streets was one of the promises made by Lisa Helps during her re-election campaign in 2018.
Earlier this year, a study conducted by Canadian research group, Research Co., found that 58% of BC residents would “definitely” or “probably” approve of speed limits being reduced to 30 km/h on residential streets, while keeping the limit on main arterial roads at 50 km/h.
