40km/h residential speed limits being proposed

[rage2]

Saw that coming after the playground zone bullshit.

http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-...idential-areas

A pedestrian strategy set to go before a city committee this month recommends reducing the speed limit to 40 km/h in residential areas, installing more flashing light pedestrian crosswalks, and building mid-block crossings in busy areas.

Nobody will adhere to it just like the blanket playground zones through the city now. Of course only 1 guy is making sense...

Chu said educating pedestrians and drivers is key in preventing crashes.

“We know pedestrians have the right of way, but you don’t just walk out into the traffic because you have the right. That’s just not smart,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re right or wrong because when you get hit you change. You’re going to have injury, big time.”

[revelations]

I think its time to stop posting on /b and start protesting in front of city hall. This is over and above, retarded.

Since you wont run for council, Shelton, how about running a protest? lol

[jdmakkord]

Meh. Living in Edgemont no one goes 50 anyways. 30-40 seems normal around here.

[speedog]

C'mon, anyone can start a protest. Why expect someone else to do it, just get up off the couch if it's important to you.

[kertejud2]

So what exactly is educating drivers involve? Don't ignore speed limits? Don't ignore pedestrian crossings? Because if they respected the right of way we wouldn't have this little stat

The city’s plan notes that in 2014, even when crossing a street with the right of way, 208 pedestrians were hit and required hospitalization and medical care.

Which means that something isn't working, which probably means that better pedestrian crossings or reduced speed limits or better pedestrian infrastructure are needed to ensure people's right of way is respected, otherwise it isn't really a right at all.

[revelations]

Originally posted by speedog
C'mon, anyone can start a protest. Why expect someone else to do it, just get up off the couch if it's important to you.

I dont want to be the only protestor. Idle no more!!

[revelations]

Originally posted by kertejud2
So what exactly is educating drivers involve? Don't ignore speed limits? Don't ignore pedestrian crossings? Because if they respected the right of way we wouldn't have this little stat



Which means that something isn't working, which probably means that better pedestrian crossings or reduced speed limits or better pedestrian infrastructure are needed to ensure people's right of way is respected, otherwise it isn't really a right at all.

40 kph limits wont help idiots who are texting while driving, or peds who dont look AT ALL before crossing a street at a crosswalk.

[Mibz]

Did the City do thorough analysis of each incident and determine that the majority of them were caused by people going 50 or lower being unable to stop in time? Or is this just a blanket "Going slower allows you more time to react" knee-jerk because they can't figure out an actual root-cause?

[nobb]

This and the stupid playground zone rules...

I wonder if it is truly in the name of safety or if it's just another way to boost ticket revenue.

[Mibz]

While I really don't think this proposal is sound, I wouldn't call it a cash grab. Police don't camp out in residential zones. Probably because the vast majority of people already go the speed limit or lower in them. Which is an indication that the speed limit is correctly set.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Honestly I find VERY few people do more than 40-50 km/h anyway in residential zones, with the exception of places like Elbow Drive. Speed limit is fine as it is IMO.

The same people are going to be the issue regardless of the limit (Drunks, distracted drivers, etc.)

[Canmorite]

Great, more road rules to ignore.

[speedog]

Originally posted by Canmorite
Great, more road rules to ignore.

Curious, do you currently, religiously follow the 50kph limit every where it applies or is posted?

[Seth1968]

“We know pedestrians have the right of way, but you don’t just walk out into the traffic because you have the right.

I'm voting for whoever said that.

[relyt92]

Honestly, I'd be totally fine with this in a lot of residential areas. I'd be even finer if residential just became 40km/h and playground zones were gotten rid of.

[Dumbass17]

fucking christ

[Seth1968]

Originally posted by nobb
This and the stupid playground zone rules...

I wonder if it is truly in the name of safety or if it's just another way to boost ticket revenue.

Safety lol.

Revenue? Nailed it nobb.

[FraserB]

Originally posted by speedog

Curious, do you currently, religiously follow the 50kph limit every where it applies or is posted?

No one does ha-ha. Thankfully enforcement in Calgary is so lax that you can drive to the road (not the artificially low speed limit) and only get a ticket (photo or otherwise) if you are being a total bonehead.

Give it a few years and the accident rate in all these new playground zones will be up since they do nothing but desensitize people to them.

A pedestrian safety campaign is also needed. People need to understand that there is no universal right of way if you are on foot and that while you might be in the right, it doesn't count for shit if you get hit my 2 tons of moving steel. Toss up some graphic accident pictures and people might shape up.

[Maxt]

Originally posted by kertejud2
So what exactly is educating drivers involve? Don't ignore speed limits? Don't ignore pedestrian crossings? Because if they respected the right of way we wouldn't have this little stat



Which means that something isn't working, which probably means that better pedestrian crossings or reduced speed limits or better pedestrian infrastructure are needed to ensure people's right of way is respected, otherwise it isn't really a right at all.

Telling pedestrians they have the right of way has drilled into them, that a car has to stop for them, no matter what is the problem. What this has accomplished is what other's are saying in this thread, the answer is, is to get pedestrians to look out for themselves more. Lowering speed limits might help survival , but the real answer is to not get people hit at all.
I drive a lot, minimum 200 km's per day, and I see it just about every day, people just blindly walk out in front of cars without looking out for themselves. They are conditioned that the white lines, or walk sign erects some sort of magic force field around them. I had a really excellent video of this on my dashcam a while back but the memory card was corrupted. This kid on a skateboard comes into a crosswalk full speed, hitting the button for the lights as he blows out into the crosswalk in front of a woman driving an suv, the woman jams on the brakes and misses this kid by an inch. The kid jumps off his board and tries to hit the SUV with the skateboard, while yelling "dumb bitch" at this woman. She was totally innocent, just shit for brains thinks he's in the right because of whats been drilled into his head.
Drivers don't try to run pedestrians down, you don't get bonus points for it, drivers have a lot going on especially on left turns, you have to thread the needle of traffic, then deal with people who don't observe the don't walk light.
What's also really bad at this time of year is your windshield is permanently dirty, and the wipers don't clear the corner area's , add in sun light angle , and it is easy for a pedestrian to remain hidden in your field of vision.
The other thing I noticed recently is driving my older vehicle compared to my newer vehicles, the A pillar airbag makes the windshield pillar 3 times thicker than it used to be . It really cuts down on corner vision.
Bottom line,the making eye contact rule and holding back until you recognize the driver sees you is really the lifesaver, but so many people just don't do this when crossing streets.

[firebane]

So they converted the school zone in my neighborhood to a playground zone. This now equates to a solid 0.5km stretch of road that is ALL playground @ 30km/hr which NOBODY abides by simply because the playground areas in that stretch are dead. There are two actual crosswalks which people don't use and if they do people don't pay attention because they aren't marked worth shit.

So to make neighborhoods 40km/h is just stupid and not going to accomplish anything except the same old 50km/h speed limits or higher.