The city’s gateway speed limit pilot program is being extended by at least another year, with minor changes to which roads are affected anticipated within a few months.
At least, according to Tuesday’s unanimous operations committee of city council decision, which will need to be ratified by city council as a whole during their Oct. 22 meeting.
Gateway speed limits were put into place last year in each of the city’s 12 wards.
Within each gateway speed limit area, there are signs alerting motorists as they enter and exit the affected area. Within this area, the speed limit is 40 km/h and school zone speed limits are 30 km/h.
A year after the gateway speed limits’ implementation, they’ve yielded mixed results, with inconsistent changes to vehicles’ operating speeds noted throughout the 12 wards.
Change in 85th percentile speed has ranged from a 9 km/h increase on Westmount Avenue to a 22 km/hr decrease on Algonquin Road.
The second-greatest speed 85th percentile speed reduction took place on Hillcrest Drive, where speeds dropped to 39 km/h from the previous 56 km/h — a 17 km/h reduction.
On both Algonquin Road and Hillcrest Drive, automated speed enforcement cameras were in place when the post-gateway speed limit speeds were being measured.
“As noted in previous reports, only changing the speed limit sign has a limited impact on the operating speeds of roadways,” a report by city Traffic and Transportation Engineering analyst David Knutson said.
“Additional measures such as speed enforcement or traffic calming are required to have a lasting impact on operating speeds.”
By extending the pilot program by another year, staff hope to gather a greater picture of what kind of halo effect, if any, roads are experiencing as a result of automated speed-enforcement cameras (sustained speed reductions outside of view of the cameras)
In addition to extending the program by another year, staff have also been asked to consult with city council members to determine whether any changes should be made to gateway speed limit catchment areas.
“Our goal would be to have that done in a two-three month span,” city Linear Infrastructure Services director Joe Rocca told the committee on Tuesday, noting that any changes will follow a few weeks of consultation and require bylaw amendment approvals by city council as a whole.
Sudbury.com will report on these changes when they are tabled for a future meeting.
On the automated speed-enforcement camera front, while proven effective in both other jurisdictions and locally, Rocca said staff are not ready to add more cameras to their collection of six, which change locations approximately every four months.
“We’re still working through all the logistical requirements on the city end and understanding the cycles and amount of time and staff effort required to move the cameras around,” Rocca said.
“There's a desire to expand the program, however we’ll come forward with a business case as part of the budget cycle.”
The six cameras’ current locations became effective in early August, and Rocca said their next location change is likely to take place in January. The city’s full list of 45 locations is available on the city’s website by clicking here. As soon as the next six locations are firmed up, they’ll also be advertised on the city’s website.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.