On May 31st of 2021, Calgary’s newly reduced default speed limit of 40 km/h became official. Have you received a photo radar ticket yet?.You might have one coming in the post. For some unlucky readers, you might not find out about your photo radar tickets until later this month when the first of many start trickling into your mailbox..Regular readers know how much I hate irrationally low highway speed limits. As a policy wonk, I wish traffic policy could be debated on facts, not just by the emotions of the pearl-clutching Karens. That’s why I supported Coun. Peter Demong and Coun. Jeromy Farkas in their amendment to send this issue to referendum. I’d hoped with the spotlight of a vote, people would seriously debate the engineering points outlined in the city’s own reports. Instead, we got a political debate where the left cried “think of the children” and then passed sweeping reductions in speed limits..The ironic thing is I’m both a car guy and an enthusiastic supporter of 30 km/h residential street design. Note my emphasis on the word ‘design.’ I love road designs that keep people moving and keep people safe. I hate irrationally low speed limits set by politicians who want to turn speed cameras into cash cows..If Calgary’s City Council really cared about safety, then instead of blanket changes to speed limits, the city would invest in improving road design with things like pedestrian scrambles, angled parking, separate bike infrastructure, raised crosswalks, smart traffic lights that give transit and pedestrians priority, roundabouts, and road narrowing. Posting lower speed limits on roads designed for higher speeds will not slow people down, at least not without a massive increase in ticket enforcement..The city’s own report outlines this engineering fact: .“If there is a mismatch between the physical features of the roadway and the posted or unposted speed limit then drivers will not perceive the speed limit to be credible and as a result will often drive to the speed that they feel is appropriate based on the roadway characteristics. If the roadway features match with the speed limit, that is to say the speed limits are credible, then compliance will be relatively high. Unfortunately, many collector roadways do not provide an environment where a 30 km/h or 40 km/h speed limit would be credible to most drivers. As a result, physical changes to the roadway would be necessary for most drivers to comply with a slower limit.”.That’s the city administration’s own words. .Even on residential streets, the report estimates a reduction in average operating speed of only “1 – 5 km/h” from a reduced limit and threat of ticketing. As any Calgarian who lives near a speed camera can tell you, that reduction in average speed is from slowing to the limit at the cameras and not from drivers maintaining a lower speed for the entire street..Coun. Jeff Davison – who is now running for mayor – was the chair of the transportation and transit committee that put forward this plan and he supported it in council. Among the other two councillors running for mayor, Jyoti Gondek voted for the new limit while Farkas voted against..Safe residential streets are possible and exist all over the developed world. The Netherlands is a global leader in safe road engineering and while Amsterdam can be considered the gold standard, there are good examples closer to come in Canada..Calgary should build safer roads with appropriate speed limits based on sound engineering principles, but politicians who waste our time and money on a ticket blitz dressed up as a safety initiative should be held accountable at the ballot box..Alex McColl is the National Defence Columnist for the Western Standard
