Saskatoon committee endorses extending school zone times, adding playground speed zones
Saskatoon could soon extend the time school zones are in effect and introduce new speed limits for drivers passing a playground.
On Monday the city’s transportation committee approved recommendations from city administration, which would be implemented in 2022.
Jay Magus, director of transportation for the city, said children are on school grounds outside of the 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. timeframe in which school zone speeds are in effect, so it made sense to extend the school zone speed limits.
“Extracurricular and after school activities extend hours of use of the school, children access playground equipment at schools and parks throughout the year,” Magus said.
“This sets clear expectations for driver behaviour in the vicinity where children may be adjacent to the road.”
The city also recommends removing school zone speed limits from high schools and instead designating those areas as school areas with no reduced speed limit.
On top of the extension of school zone speed limits, the city’s administration recommended slowing drivers to 30 km/h in areas where a playground is adjacent to a street.
Playground speed limits would also be in effect throughout the year, seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Magus said playground zones would reduce risk of conflicts between vehicles and children, provide warning for drivers and require them to slow down.
The city said the signage required for these changes sits at $830,000.
In terms of speed zones for areas in the city with a high concentration of seniors, the city said it’s looking at traffic-calming measures and extending crosswalk times in areas with high pedestrian volumes.
The proposal will head to city council for approval.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Parents of infant who died in wrong-way crash on Ontario's Hwy. 401 were in same vehicle
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has released new details about a wrong-way collision in Whitby on Monday night that claimed the lives of four people.
Loblaw leaders call criticism 'misguided,' say they aren't to blame for high food prices
Loblaw chairman Galen Weston and the company's new CEO are pushing back against critics who blame the grocery giant for soaring food prices, as a month-long boycott of the retailer gets underway.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
'Giant-killer' Kazushi Kimura to race in Kentucky Derby this weekend: 'I'm representing Canada and Japan'
Six years ago, at age 18, Kazushi Kimura left his home and family behind in Hokkaido, Japan to chase a dream. This weekend, he'll ride in the Kentucky Derby.
Quebec premier asks police to dismantle camp at McGill University
Quebec Premier Francois Legault has called on the police to dismantle the pro-Palestinian protest encampment on the lower field of McGill University's downtown campus in Montreal.
Orangutan observed treating wound using medicinal plant in world first
Scientists working in Indonesia have observed an orangutan intentionally treating a wound on their face with a medicinal plant, the first time this behavior has been documented.
TD Bank hit with $9.2M penalty after failing to report suspicious transactions
Canada’s financial-crime watchdog has levied a $9.2-million penalty against The Toronto-Dominion Bank for non-compliance with money laundering and terrorist financing measures as the bank also faces compliance investigations in the U.S.
Doctors concerned about potential spread of bird flu in Canada
H5N1 or avian flu has been detected at dozens of U.S. dairy farms and Canadian experts are urging surveillance on our side of the border too.