Warning grace period for Edmonton's new 40 km/h default speed limit ends Wednesday as schools reopen

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More than 3,000 speed violation warnings were issued on Edmonton’s new 40 km/h streets since the lower default speed limit came into effect Aug. 6.

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But automated enforcement warnings will turn to fines starting Wednesday when the grace period comes to a halt as students start returning to school.

Edmonton’s director of safe mobility Jessica Lamarre said driver compliance has been high for the new speed limit on most residential and Downtown streets, but there is still room for improvement.

About 80 per cent of drivers have been slowing down and following the new 40 km/h speed limit, Lamarre said. Photo radar enforcement over the last month has resulted in two to three violations per hour where warning notices were issued. But tickets will be issued come Wednesday to those still not following the new limit. There are just over 100 automated enforcement sites throughout the city where the speed limit dropped to 40 km/h.

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“I think it’s a great start, we can always do better obviously,” Lamarre said during a Traffic Tuesday Facebook live event. “It’s very good to see that low number of folks in the violation realm, but we hope that those warning notices are having an impact when folks receive them so they can be reminded to adjust their behaviour.”

As students across the city prepare to return to school this week, Edmonton Police Service Sgt. Kerry Bates said the traffic section will be out to educate drivers about the new rules and enforcement. Police will patrol about 150 schools throughout the year during peak hours to ensure compliance for the speed limits, Bates said. The playground zone speed limit of 30 km/h remains in effect near schools and standalone playgrounds between 7:30 a.m. and 9 p.m. Outside of these hours, the speed limit is 40 km/h unless posted otherwise.

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“It’s not necessarily to pile tickets on all the drivers but just to wake them up to other ways they can do things, like park properly and not blocking bus zones,” Bates said. “That’s been an ongoing project for several years now at the start of the school year.”

Bates said he isn’t aware of any tickets being issued by police yet on new 40 km/h streets for excessive speeding.

In order to inform Edmontonians of the speed changes, the city has launched the Vision Zero school kit and Safe Speeds guide to address speeding concerns and build awareness of street safety around schools.

Edmonton’s goal of Vision Zero is to eliminate all traffic-related fatalities and serious injuries by 2032.

duscook@postmedia.com

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