The Town of Sidney is considering reducing speed limit on local roads to 30 km/h.
On Monday (Jan. 27) council unanimously approved staff's recommendation to solicit community input on three specific approaches to speed reduction to improve road safety, particularly for pedestrians and cyclists.
Staff says reducing the speed limit alone might not be enough to influence drivers' behaviour, so traffic calming measures should also be used in conjunction with the program.
“The reason we brought it forward is because members of the community have voiced their concerns,” says Mayor Cliff McNeil-Smith. “We think it's reasonable to conduct further engagement.”
Lowering the speed limit on all local roads from 50 to 30 km/h, putting up gateway signage to alert drivers of the new speed limit, and gradually implementing traffic calming to lower vehicle speeds are the three approaches identified by the town staff in a report presented to council.
The mayor said staff has done some work in terms of which roads would be affected, details of which will be shared with the public for feedback.
According to the staff report, the lowered speed limit would not apply to streets designated as arterial, collector or provincial in the official community plan (OCP).
There will be no speed reduction on Ardwell Avenue, Beacon Avenue West, Canora Drive, Fifth Street, Galaran Road, Mills Road/Mills Road West, McDonald Park Road, Ocean Avenue/Ocean Avenue West, Resthaven Drive (north of Mills Road), Stirling Way and Weiler Avenue West.
Modifications to the speed limit on these roads may be the subject of separate future studies.
“The volumes, current speeds and the design of many of our collector and arterial roads require a bit more study to determine what the appropriate speed limit should be,” said Jenn Clary, director of engineering for Sidney.
The default speed limit for B.C. municipal streets is 50 km/h, though municipal councils have the authority to set speed limits on roads under their jurisdiction.
Downtown Sidney's reduced speed limits will remain unchanged.
A public engagement period will be held sometime this year, which will include an online survey.
Staff believe the new speed limit on local roads could be put into effect in 2026; if council approves, a budget item would be presented for discussion.
