City councillors are to vote Wednesday on reducing the limit on Bank Street south of Kitchener Avenue and Hunt Club Road to 50 km/h from 60 km/h.
An Ottawa councillor is proposing a speed reduction for a portion of Bank Street on the southern edge of the city — a move that an advocate says will help reduce pedestrian deaths and make it safer for those who choose not to drive.
The proposal, which was first discussed in the city’s Public Works and Infrastructure Committee in February, would reduce the limit on a portion of Bank 150 metres south of Kitchener Avenue and Hunt Club Road to 50 km/h from 60 km/h.
According to a report published ahead of Wednesday’s city council meeting, where it was to be voted on, there have been “numerous complaints” from residents and community associations in the area regarding pedestrian safety.
The area has high pedestrian activity due to the South Keys Shopping Plaza and multiple pedestrian crossing points that provide access to two transit stations, as well as several commercial and residential properties. There is also a seniors residence whose elderly residents frequently need more time to cross the road, and a biking feasibility survey is also underway by city staff.
Complaints escalated after a serious three-vehicle collision occurred at the intersection of Bank Street and Johnston Road last November, and the report said the intersection had documented safety concerns. Speed data collected from more than 22,000 vehicles last December showed that 85 per cent of drivers were driving at or below 64 km/h instead of the posted 60 km/h.
“When you reduce the speed of a road, if you do have a conflict between vehicles, there’s better chances for that pedestrian (to survive the collision),” said Gloucester-Southgate Coun. Jessica Bradley, who proposed the speed limit reduction.
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“Ultimately, for true pedestrian safety, we need to make sure that we have good pedestrian facilities at the crosswalk, that those areas are appropriate for the roadway. Sometimes that means, if (the road is) really wide, you need that reprieve in the middle section for people who can’t make it fully across. Sometimes that means you’re adjusting the timing of the lights and that you’re looking for pedestrian crossings where you know there isn’t safe infrastructure and asking why.”
Bradley said the speed reduction would make sense and she didn’t anticipate much pushback from drivers. According to the report, the northern portion of Bank Street at Kitchener Avenue is already established at 50 km/h, while the remaining portion starting at the bridge to Hunt Club Road has a 60 km/h speed limit.
“It’s not a giant change, and it’s just Hunt Club Road where you have a lot of speedways and stop-and-go situations because people are trying to get to the transit station or the South Keys Shopping Centre,” she added.
“People in the immediate area haven’t expressed a concern … I guess those who have concerns, they might be further south, and it might be because they want to go fast. The city generally is trying to reduce speed. We’ve got a lot of automated speed assessments going on now, so it really is in line with where we’re moving as a city.”
Marko Miljusevic of Strong Towns Ottawa, an advocacy group promoting a walkable city, said the reduced speed-limit proposal was a good first step in improving pedestrian safety in the area.
An article by The Canadian Association of Road Safety Professionals says the approximate survival rate if a person is hit by a vehicle going 60 km/h is zero out of 10, while the approximate survival rate if a person is hit by a vehicle going 50 km/h is two out of 10. The association said a reduction of vehicle speed from 50 km/h to 30 km/h reduced the average probability of a pedestrian fatality to 10 per cent from 80 per cent.
However, achieving speed limits that eliminate deaths and serious injuries should be the ultimate goal for road safety, the association added.
“Speed limits aren’t the end all be all of road safety. There’s a lot more that goes into it, but (the reduction) is great to see,” Miljusevic told the Ottawa Citizen.
Miljusevic said he would like to see narrower roads and wider sidewalks so drivers could be more aware of their surroundings in addition to speed-limit reductions. He also called for more speed enforcement along busy arterial roads like Bank Street.
The Canadian Association of Road Safety Professionals advises municipalities to use a combination of better road infrastructure, enforcement and community engagement to manage traffic speeds in neighbourhoods.
“Looking at (Bank Street and Johnston Road), it’s a very wide intersection, so pedestrians are crossing very broad lanes. There’s slip lanes, which encourage speeding from divers while they’re turning, and often they’re not paying attention to pedestrians,” Miljusevic said.
“Making those intersections safer is a key point because that’s typically where vulnerable road users are walking on sidewalks and waiting to cross.”
Bradley acknowledged that a speed-limit reduction wasn’t enough to dramatically improve pedestrian safety in the area. The city will also hold education campaigns and community engagement sessions to inform residents about the change if the motion is passed.
“How do we keep the momentum? It’s raising awareness and using other tools in our toolbox,” she said.
“We’re getting that area resurfaced … There are opportunities to do some narrowing, add some cycling infrastructure, etc., to pinch people a bit and bring (speeds) down.”
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