Traffic in residential areas will be reduced from 50 km/hr to 40 km/hr if Council passes the third reading of its Traffic Safety Bylaw.
by Colin Smith
Morinville Council is moving along with changes aimed at improving traffic safety in the community. The second reading of a new Traffic Safety Bylaw was approved at council’s regular meeting on Tuesday, June 13.
A 40 km/hr residential speed limit is one of the major changes in the bylaw, introduced and given the first reading in January.
The proposed bylaw also includes a requirement for helmets for youths using wheeled conveyances such as skateboards, roller skates and scooters, new hours for school zones and playground zones, and restrictions on school bus flashing lights.
Commercial users would see truck route and parking changes and penalties for highway damage and “tracking,” where commercial vehicles bring dirt and debris from off-road locations on to the town’s roadways.
One change to the bylaw adopted by council at first reading and incorporated into the current version deals with snow clearing.
The proposed bylaw now includes a timeline of 72 hours for residents to clear their sidewalks after a snowfall and 48 hours for businesses to do the same.
As initially presented to council it included a residential timeline of 48 hours, while businesses would need to have their walks cleaned in 24 hours.
One change in the second version, based on council feedback, is that new wording now specifically allows commercial vehicles to go to and from the premises for servicing and repairs.
The administration reviewed other council comments about commercial parking and recommended no changes to the original bylaw provisions.
Also recommended against on the basis of legal advice was a possible religious exemption for helmets for youths.
Another aspect of the bylaw is that its definitions section has been updated to remove references to other legislation.
Council members gave unanimous approval to the second reading of the bylaw.
The third reading was moved by Councillor Rebecca Balanko, who subsequently withdrew her motion when it appeared that it might not have enough support to pass.
Councillors Ray White and Maurice St. Denis expressed their disinclination to vote for third reading.
“I can’t support third reading tonight,” declared White. “I don’t think we’ve heard a lot from our trucking community, and this is definitely going to impact them. I think it’s a healthy exercise to make some space and time between the two readings to make sure we’ve heard from everybody.”
St. Denis indicated he needed time to seek further information on the residential speed limit reduction issue.
“I want to make sure I can, with confidence, see this move forward,” he said.
The third reading of the bylaw is now scheduled for council’s July 11 meeting.
Once the bylaw has been adopted, its provisions will be rolled out in stages.
Implementation of school bus flashing light restrictions and school zone times will take place later this year, while the residential speed limit change, playground zone times, truck routes and dangerous good route provisions will come into force in 2024.
The cost of implementing the changes is estimated at about $17,500, including $10,000 for the replacement of speed signs on residential roads, information tabs for playground and school zones and truck route signage.
The development and implementation of a communications plan about the changes will cost about $7,500.
