Druh marches forward with reduced speed limit plan

[finboy]

[FraserB]

It's not needed though. On most streets it is hard to get up to 50 due to street side parking and road design. As for people entering the road between intersections, that's on them for choosing to jaywalk where they don't in fact have any right of way. Maybe if they abandoned their BS safety claims and admitted they only want it done to try and boost their property values, they wouldn't get laughed at so much.

What is needed is more PEDESTRIAN education. Keep your kids off the street (it's not a playgound and you don't have right of way), educate them about what happens when they run into a roadway from between parked cars and actually enforce the jaywalking bylaws. With the vehicles that are on Calgary roads, 50kph or 30kph usually won't matter one bit in a vehicle vs. pedestrian collision.

[schocker]

Originally posted by FraserB
What is needed is more PEDESTRIAN education. Keep your kids off the street (it's not a playgound and you don't have right of way), educate them about what happens when they run into a roadway from between parked cars and actually enforce the jaywalking bylaws. With the vehicles that are on Calgary roads, 50kph or 30kph usually won't matter one bit in a vehicle vs. pedestrian collision.

Exactly. This is the same for adults. Lots just run out into the street, start walking before the light has turned etc. Super annoying downtown if you are trying to turn for example or people just crossing against the light at a leisurely pace.

[cam_wmh]

Originally posted by rage2

The only people that would shortcut through Sunnyside to get onto 10th street are inner city urbanites. We suburbanites know the real shortcut is much further west on 19th Street (sorry Hillhurstanites).

LOL, the squares got creative.

Originally posted by finboy


This is beyond just sunnyside, as outlined she wants this through the whole city. Ever driven through airdrie where all residential zones are 30? It's hell.

Airdrie sounded like hell, before I heard of these 30km/hr zones

[Sugarphreak]

...

[speedog]

Have to go back on what I posted above - driving through Rosemont, Cambrian Heights and Highwood tonight showed me that 50 is okay on residential streets and doesn't seem all that unsafe. So keep things at 50 everywhere and address problem areas appropriately in a fiscally responsible manner.

[FiveFreshFish]

30 km/h sounds good as long as fines are doubled for Sunnyside residents caught speeding in their own neighbourhood.

[Xtrema]

So nobody cut over on 7th if Memorial is jammed? I used to do that all the time.

[BrknFngrs]

Based on this thread it sounds like visibity and thinner streets in the area is the real issue. No real choice but to ban all street parking and clear cut all trees and shrubs that a child could be hiding behind.

[btimbit]

As someone mentioned, sounds like the real problems are getting ignored, such as too much street parking, narrow roads, and lack of pedestrian education.

But if it doesn't effect Memorial or 10th st, then I really don't care

[clem24]

Originally posted by speedog
As for a newer community, let's says Edgemont or Tuscany, I can't comment on because that''s not a part of my daily driving routine but certainly in the central north, 30kph on purely residential streets might not be an issue - 40 though I could get behind more so than 30, a nice compromise and at the same time, start looking at all the bogus playground zones (one that really grinds my gears is on 14th Street NW around Sandarac Drive - complete BS).

I am in Tuscany, and I usually do at most 30 or 40 in residential roads... Which is slower than residential streets in older neighborhoods. Why?

1.) They are actually quite narrow (if cars parked on both sides, will barely accommodate 2 cars).
2.) TONS of kids out playing in the summer.
3.) And because we don't use a grid system like inner city, you get lots of completely BLIND corners and stupid moms (and dads) that love to cut the corner even if it means going in the wrong lane.

(like this one by my place for example):

http://goo.gl/maps/dbvk1

(and yes that guy with the Explorer and a British Royal Airforce plate(?) parks there EVERYDAY sometimes RIGHT AT THE APEX of that corner making that corner even more hazardous at times)

Some intersections are really bad. Take this for example:

http://goo.gl/maps/Hw0Bv

I come out of that side street everyday to turn left onto Tusslewood Drive. Notice how the city put a curve on Tusslewood Drive, but also note how that corner house (legally) built that fence around his yard, which completely obstructs view of vehicles coming around the bend. What makes matters worse is that people usually blast up that part, so unless you're really punching it, they're on your ass in no time. It gets worse in the winter time when roads are slick and I am struggling for traction.

The more I think about this, the more I think it really doesn't matter since I am hardly doing over 30 in residential roads anyway. But just keep any main route (i.e. any route that accommodates or potentially accommodates a bus) be left at 50 unless that bus is going through small residential roads. But then we get a stupid amount useless signage, wasted tax dollars, potential cop cash cow and confusion so really, the best solution is to just leave it alone.

People drive at whatever speed they deem safe and putting up a 30km/h sign won't stop someone who deems 50 safe to do 50 in that area.

Where was the place where they completely got rid of speed limits and people actually slowed down? Somewhere in Europe I think?

[suntan]

That's the whole point of going away from the grid system. If you can see far ahead, then you're going to go really fast.

[speedog]

Slight bump - another related news article in the Calgary Herald today, link.

Didn't realize this lowering residential speed limits thing was gaining so much traction in so many places.

[finboy]

There is a speed reader setup in rosedale, that shows how fast drivers are going. Pretty much everyone tries to see how fast they can get for a readout, bets on the city using this "data" to push the limit down? Calgary is going to 30, it's just a matter of time until they can convince everyone that pedestrians are getting mowed down on a daily basis by monsters who do 50km/h.

[Thomas Gabriel]

11 accidents over 15 years? And they consider that bad? Pathetic. You know what the real reason for this is right? NIMBY road noise.

[Go4Long]

I was going to go with idiotic pedestrians running out in traffic, and drivers with their heads up their collective asses...but road noise is good too.

[tirebob]

Originally posted by finboy


This is beyond just sunnyside, as outlined she wants this through the whole city. Ever driven through airdrie where all residential zones are 30? It's hell.

Oh man... I know I am going to get flamed for this... LOL

When I moved to Airdrie, I was annoyed by this but I have to admit, I like it now. Not because I am worried about the safety issues, but it actually is relaxing for me. I talked to my neighbours about it too and they all agree. I haven't found anyone around me who is irritated by it.

I never thought I would end up liking it, but now I prefer it.

[schocker]

Driving at 0km/h though would result in 0 fatalities!
Some of the onus needs to apply to pedestrians also and these collisions aren't prevalent enough to lower speed limits by almost half. I always look both ways before crossing the street, make sure that the vehicles can see me and make sure they are stopping and then I cross. Is that really so hard?

[NuclearPizzaMan]

Originally posted by speedog
Slight bump - another related news article in the Calgary Herald today, link.

Didn't realize this lowering residential speed limits thing was gaining so much traction in so many places.

How shocking that 30 For Sunnyside is represented by Dale Calkins, a cycle evangelist who thinks that his art degree and experience as a cashier make his opinion worth hearing.

[FraserB]

Just more and more bubble wrapping of society. We're removing critical thinking skills and teaching people that they don't need to have responsibility for their own actions and that someone else will look after them and that anything that goes wrong is going to be someone else's fault.