WINNIPEG - The City of Winnipeg is considering dropping speed limits in some parts of the city from 50 to 30 km/h.
The proposal up for debate by City Council this week calls for speed limits to be lowered along four streets in a trial run:
- Eugenie St. from St. Mary’s Rd to Youville St.;
- Machray Ave. from Fife St to Main St.;
- Powers St. from Dufferin Ave. to Partridge Ave.; and
- Warsaw Ave. from Thurso St. to Pembina Hwy
After hearing from residents in the area, the city says they cancelled plans to also include Roch St. in the pilot project. All five streets considered in the project are neighbourhood greenways, routes for cyclists, pedestrians, motor vehicle use. The city says the pilot will help inform the city on whether it should expand speed limit reduction further in an effort to prevent pedestrians from being hit by vehicles while they share space along the greenways.
Winnipeg currently has 11 such roadways, all currently operating with 50 km/h speed limits. City Hall will vote on the motion on Thursday.
So my question to city council is this and it is simple. How many people have been hit in the past 5 years (a normal statistic test) either walking running or cycling on our streets. You want to make changes to our residential speed limits you should be able to justify it with numbers. And no percentages. Percentages can be twisted, if 2 people were hit last year and this year 4 people are hit that is a 100 percent increase. Make it actual numbers of collisions.