Comment 99425

By kevlahan (registered) | Posted March 30, 2014 at 09:06:34 in reply to Comment 99404

As far as safety is concerned it is the absolute number exceeding the limit by a large margin that is the danger. Even one car going 100kmh on a street like Herkimer would be a huge risk, even if 15000 other cars were under the limit!

The goal is to minimize the maximum risk, not ensure that the 'average' driver doesn't speed. And 50kmh is the default maximum for all city streets regardless of design, except in school zones. It is obviously a dangerous speed on many roads in many conditions.

I'll assume that your question about percentages is in good faith: the city data showed that 40% of drivers exceeded 50kmh on the minor arterials and 200 per day exceeded 65 kmh. This is just unacceptably dangerous, especially as 50 is already far too fast. Unfortunately, the full report is only available on paper.

The way to change this is well-known and proven all over the developed world and has been explained ad nauseam on this very site:

  1. Change the road design to make it uncomfortable to drive faster than 30kmh. Tools include 2-way conversion (no possibility of passing), narrow lanes, chicanes, bump outs at intersections, speed humps, frequent pedestrian crossings where drivers must yield.

  2. Lower the legal speed limit to 30kmh, and have an enforcement blitz when the change is made.

This really works. We just have to want to do it.

Enforcement on a road that is clearly designed to drive fast with minimal 'obstructions' (like oncoming traffic, crossing pedestrians or parking), in a city with a culture of 'cars first' where everyone believes they have a right to drive 10kmh over the limit if they feel comfortable doing it will not work.

Comment edited by kevlahan on 2014-03-30 09:33:02

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