{"id":51991,"date":"2015-05-28T09:04:33","date_gmt":"2015-05-28T13:04:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/?p=51991"},"modified":"2015-05-29T19:23:06","modified_gmt":"2015-05-29T23:23:06","slug":"slow-zones-vs-universal-speed-reductions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2015\/05\/28\/slow-zones-vs-universal-speed-reductions\/","title":{"rendered":"REID: Slowly moving towards speed reductions in Toronto"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Dylan<\/a><\/p>\n

In the most recent issue<\/a> of Spacing<\/em>, I wrote about how the idea of “slow zones” is being overtaken by universal speed reductions in cities in Europe<\/a> and North America<\/a>. Toronto had been slow on the uptake with both of these ideas, but this spring City Council has been faced with a variety of speed reduction approaches all at once.<\/p>\n

Both ideas are attempts to reduce the speed of vehicles travelling in the city in order to improve safety, since slower speeds result in fewer collisions with pedestrians and cyclists, and fewer serious injuries and deaths. In “slow zones,” a defined neighbourhood is designated to have a lower speed limit, generally accompanied by infrastructure changes to encourage slower speeds. With universal speed limit reductions, on the other hand, the default speed limit is reduced across an entire city (or borough<\/a>) all at once.<\/p>\n

The speed limit reductions are generally from 40 km\/hr to 30 km\/hr (20 mph) on local streets, and from default 50 km\/hr to default 40 km\/hr (25 mph) on arterial roads unless otherwise signed.<\/p>\n

\"Chart<\/a>Chart from Toronto Public Health report, “Road to Health: Improving Walking and Cycling in Toronto”<\/em><\/p>\n

The theory behind “slow zones” is that vehicles tend to drive at a street’s “design speed” — that is, the speed the street is built for. In this theory, reducing speed limits without changing the street’s infrastructure will make little difference. On the other hand, the theory behind universal reductions is that drivers will internalize the speed limit if it’s universal within a jurisdiction. Indeed, a study of a universal speed reduction initiative in Columbia, Missouri showed that it did, in fact, reduce driver speeds<\/a> (PDF) (although the reduction varied by location).<\/p>\n

In Toronto, a piecemeal “design speed” approach has traditionally meant that streets needed to get speed bumps in order to reduce their speeds to 30 km\/hr. Earlier this month, City Council passed a new bylaw that specifies conditions where a local street’s speed limit can be lowered to 30 km\/hr without infrastructure changes<\/a>. However, the conditions still operate on the “design speed” principle — only streets where vehicles are already likely to go slow because of the street’s existing characteristics are eligible.<\/p>\n

The conditions<\/a> (PDF) require, first, a local petition in favour of the speed reduction — similar to the “slow zone” approach, which generally demands neighbourhoods specifically request the designation. If certain other basic standards are also met, streets that specifically include school areas, or contra-flow bike lanes, can now get this speed reduction.<\/p>\n

There’s also a section for other streets (“Warrant D”), but the conditions are so absurdly complicated that it’s doubtful any street in Toronto would meet them. A street would have to meet THREE of the following four criteria:<\/p>\n