Post by SpeedFreak on Jan 29, 2015 12:37:27 GMT -5
Nanny province is considering lowering speed limits again...
Perhaps the pedestrians can stop looking down at their smart phones and instead look where they're walking?
www.cp24.com/news/province-to-consider-lowering-speed-limits-1.2211197
The Ontario government will consider lowering speed limits across the province in an attempt to improve safety for pedestrians, motorists and cyclists.
According to a spokesperson for Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca, a number of consultations are planned with municipalities to discuss the idea.
The Highway Traffic Act currently sets the residential speed limit at 50 km/h “in cities, towns, villages and built-up areas,” however a report in the Toronto Star says that the Liberal government is considering lowering the limit to 40 km/h, allowing municipalities to set a default limit of either 50 km/h or 40 km/h within their boundaries or allowing municipalities to set their own speed limits altogether.
“The safety of Ontario’s roads and highways is my utmost priority, and making Ontario’s roads safer is part of my mandate as minister,” Del Duca said in a statement provided to CP24 on Thursday morning. “Municipalities have expressed the need to reduce their speed limits to enhance road safety for all road users, including pedestrians and cyclists. The province wants input from the public, municipalities and stakeholders on whether to consider changing the default speed limit for local roads. Any decisions made always take the safety of our roads and road users into consideration.”
The idea of lowering speed limits is hardly a novel concept.
In fact, in 2012 Toronto's medical officer of health Dr. David McKeown released a report proposing a 30 km/h speed limit on residential streets and a citywide speed limit of 40 km/h on all other streets, however former mayor Rob Ford dismissed the plan as “nuts” at the time.
The World Health Organization has also lobbied for lower speed limits in the past, releasing a report in 2004 that found that for every 1 km/h increase in vehicle speed there is a four to five per cent increase in the likelihood of a fatality in the event of a crash.
Perhaps the pedestrians can stop looking down at their smart phones and instead look where they're walking?
www.cp24.com/news/province-to-consider-lowering-speed-limits-1.2211197
The Ontario government will consider lowering speed limits across the province in an attempt to improve safety for pedestrians, motorists and cyclists.
According to a spokesperson for Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca, a number of consultations are planned with municipalities to discuss the idea.
The Highway Traffic Act currently sets the residential speed limit at 50 km/h “in cities, towns, villages and built-up areas,” however a report in the Toronto Star says that the Liberal government is considering lowering the limit to 40 km/h, allowing municipalities to set a default limit of either 50 km/h or 40 km/h within their boundaries or allowing municipalities to set their own speed limits altogether.
“The safety of Ontario’s roads and highways is my utmost priority, and making Ontario’s roads safer is part of my mandate as minister,” Del Duca said in a statement provided to CP24 on Thursday morning. “Municipalities have expressed the need to reduce their speed limits to enhance road safety for all road users, including pedestrians and cyclists. The province wants input from the public, municipalities and stakeholders on whether to consider changing the default speed limit for local roads. Any decisions made always take the safety of our roads and road users into consideration.”
The idea of lowering speed limits is hardly a novel concept.
In fact, in 2012 Toronto's medical officer of health Dr. David McKeown released a report proposing a 30 km/h speed limit on residential streets and a citywide speed limit of 40 km/h on all other streets, however former mayor Rob Ford dismissed the plan as “nuts” at the time.
The World Health Organization has also lobbied for lower speed limits in the past, releasing a report in 2004 that found that for every 1 km/h increase in vehicle speed there is a four to five per cent increase in the likelihood of a fatality in the event of a crash.
