Kamloops city council is considering a pilot project to reduce speed limits on local streets from 50 km/h to 30 km/h in two neighbourhoods. The goal is to improve safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers, especially children playing outside.

The neighbourhoods that would be impacted have yet to be decided upon and staff is now working towards that decision.

At the July 15th regular meeting of Kamloops City Council, Councillor Stephen Karpuk, who proposed the idea, said slower speeds help drivers stop more quickly and reduce the chances of serious injuries in crashes. “The stopping distance for somebody in a car at 30 kilometres an hour versus 50 is more than double. The survivability of an impact at 30 kilometres an hour versus 50 is noticeably different,” he explained. “The purpose was to make sure that people were valued over commuting in a car, that a kid that might randomly run out chasing a ball doesn’t get hit by somebody.”

Karpuk added that many other cities, including Vancouver, have already lowered local speed limits to 30 km/h to make streets safer and quieter.

Some councillors raised concerns about how to enforce the new speed limits. Councillor Mike O’Reilly said, “I don’t think signs would change people’s driving habits as much as physical changes to the roadways like speed humps or dips and bulb-outs. They don’t have to be massive, permanent speed bumps, either. They could be the temporary, cheap ones, again, just things to slow people down.”

Councillor Bill Sarai emphasized the importance of focusing on school zones, saying, “I want to see some more emphasis on road safety around school zones. I don’t see signage going up at every block or every neighbourhood saying speed limit is now 30, if that’s going to be enough to slow people down.”

Meanwhile, Councillor Dale Bass supported the idea, highlighting how lower speeds can protect children outside of school zones as well. “Especially in the summertime, they’re everywhere,” Bass said. “That’s why I support Coun. Karpuk on this, I just think it makes perfect sense. Kids are outside playing. That’s where we want them to be, is outside playing.”

Rather than lowering speed limits citywide right away, council agreed to start with a smaller pilot project in two neighbourhoods. City staff will study which areas would be best for the trial and present their findings to council later.

If the pilot is successful, Kamloops may consider lowering speed limits in more neighbourhoods to create safer and more livable streets.