At least one Kamloops councillor is in favour of 30 km/hr speed limit in the city’s school and playground zones 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Vancouver voted to reduced its speed limits this week, and Mike O’Reilly hopes Kamloops can do the same, noting there’s not a lot of difference between a school and a playground zone.

“A playground area, a park has either an empty field or an actual playground itself, and I don’t see the difference between a playground and a school,” he said on NL Newsday.

“Every school that I know of either has a playground or a field. So to me it just makes sense, and it makes it easier for drivers regardless if there’s a field or a playground, it doesn’t matter where you are, that its a 30 km/hr speed zone.”

O’Reilly notes a good example is the now-closed Stuart Wood School at Third Avenue and St. Paul Street downtown.

“Stuart Wood used to be a school zone. It’s no longer a school zone, but there’s still a park there, there’s still a field there, there’s a playground, yet its not the 30 during the school hours, so its confusing for people, “O’Reilly said.

He believes such a change in Kamloops would be a small and easy transition, noting city staff are currently studying what can be done to get to zero deaths on the roads in Kamloops. The report, titled “Vision Zero,” is expected to come to council by the end of this year.

“And its important I think to do this strategy early. And the fact that we are not reacting to where there’s an issue. We are looking ahead,” he said. “We’ll be consulting with the public as to where they feel the issues are. And it will be data driven through ICBC statistics.”

Speed zones in Kamloops are managed by the province’s Motor Vehicle Act. Vancouver’s on the other hand is able to make the change as it operates under its city charter, O’Reilly noted.

“I would think there’s love for this from other colleagues,” he said, noting the way roads are being used these days is very different to how it was five years ago, pointing to an increase in people using e-bikes and scooters as opposed to cars.