At Brandon’s City Council meeting on Monday, April 20, a discussion began about changing the default speed limit for streets in the city, and that discussion appears headed for next steps.
Per the City, this stems from complaints from some locals about people not adhering to speed limits on residential streets. The city undertook a pilot project in 2021, when they tried a reduction to the speed limit on Durum Drive to 40 km/h between Aberdeen Avenue and 26th Street.
This pilot project was expanded to incorporate neighbourhoods, other local collectors and areas of elevated concern, such as playgrounds. In June and July
of 2023 the speed limit reduction study was expanded to reduce the speed limit to 40km/h in the Parkdale neighbourhood, Riverheights neighbourhood and along Princess Avenue East between 1St Street and 13th Street East.
In the process of getting more data, the city found that, in other municipalities that had tried similar changes, a 25 percent reduction in overall collisions and a 31 percent reduction in injuries and fatalities caused by collisions in the two years that followed the change.
The city noted it is within their power to change the limit, but provincial laws dictate where they would have to post signs for speed limits under 50 kilometers per hour. According to their findings, posting this signage would cost $2.25 million.
There will be public engagement and surveys in the future to help determine if a change in the default speed limit is in Brandon’s best interests. For more details on the discussion and findings of the earlier pilot projects CLICK HERE.
