The Mayor of Saanich wants to see Premier John Horgan reduce statutory speed limits to improve road safety across B.C.

Fred Haynes questions why statutory speed limits remain while local roads continue to see high fatality, crash, and injury rates. He says not making changes contradicts a number of provincial plans, studies, and publications. “That puzzled us that on one hand the mayors and councils of BC are asking for it, their own policy papers suggest it’s the right approach, but then when it comes to operations they’re not willing to step forward on this.” Haynes proposes that un-posted speed limits within a municipality drop from 50 kilometres an hour to 40.

In his letter, Haynes says he is looking for changes to laws governing our roads to help end the epidemic of road crash fatalities, serious injuries, collisions and near misses. He says it would of benefit for those who use methods of active transportation. “In actual fact the road I live on we’ve had residents marching up the road to say they want the limit to be lower so they can walk on it, feel safe on it, so they can ride their bikes, feel safe riding their bikes.” He says the idea has had a lot of support at the annual Union of BC Municipalities convention.

Haynes says it has looked at taking that kind of action within Saanich, but the cost of administering the change is significant and he believes it would be a good thing to implement province wide. “And there are a number of ways it can be done. One of the requests has been to allow municipalities to put in what you might call blanket areas or zoned areas, but then you get the transition from one speed to another and it can confuse drivers and even the criminal justice system says it is not the appropriate approach.”

Click here to read the Mayor’s letter.