District of Squamish staff supports a consultant’s recommendation to implement a 30km/h speed limit in the Downtown and Oceanfront area. The council will discuss the change at a Committee of the Whole meeting tomorrow. The District will gather data from this project to shape future speed restrictions in Squamish.
Staff are not recommending moving with the other option of a 40 km/h speed limit across Squamish because that would impact transit, and there is a lack of support for speed limit reductions on collector roads, notes a report to the council. If the council moves ahead with the first option, signs would be installed at the Highway 99 exit and through the Downtown and Oceanfront area.
Squamish RCMP supports the speed reductions but can’t promise enforcement. The report notes the detachment doesn’t have officers who can enforce speed limits on both the highway and in Squamish. Speeding enforcement is the responsibility of RCMP and not bylaw officers, as the latter only have jurisdiction over stationary vehicles.
District staff engaged a consultant to develop and evaluate options for speed limit reduction. One option was a blanket approach, in which a new speed limit applies everywhere within a community except where otherwise indicated (e.g., school zones).
The other approach is the area-based approach. The report says that downtown and Oceanfront were identified as important areas for safety improvements as they reported more accidents than other areas and are high-activity destinations.
The district conducted a public survey and got 425 responses. The survey suggests that support for speed limit reductions was highest for the Downtown and Oceanfront areas, followed by local roads. In March, the District of Squamish announced it is exploring speed limit reductions on local roads and invited public input to identify the areas where speeding is a concern.
Ihor Zalubniak says
Many would relish enforcement of current limits. Especially on roads such as the Boulevard and Queensway. How about adding a third exit to the Highlands thru The north end development that accesses the highway to a south bound merge lane activated by a triggered light system. Would reduce north bound traffic speeds in the area. South bound traffic is already slowing and could accommodate a merge from the left lane.