Speed-limit cut proposed for street in Wolseley

A reduction to the speed limit has been proposed for a section of Arlington Street following concerns that ramped-up bus traffic has added noise and disruption to the quiet Wolseley neighbourhood.

Coun. Cindy Gilroy (Daniel McIntyre) is calling on city council to reduce the speed limit to 30 km/h from 50 km/h on Arlington, between Portage and Wolseley avenues.

Gilroy said the 28 Arlington route was added when Transit implemented a new primary network at the end of June. That turned a stretch that had little bus traffic into a key route, adding speed, congestion, noise and vibrations that shake nearby homes, she said.

“A large bus is a change in itself. And a lot of the residents really want the slowing down of the bus to 30 (km/h). They’ve said loud and clear that this is very disrupting,” said Gilroy.

The councillor noted active transportation is especially popular in Wolseley and many children play on the boulevards, which she feels can make even following the 50 km/h speed limit feel too fast.

“Cars are not usually driving 50 down there… It’s a neighbourhood understanding that people drive slower there,” said Gilroy.

That’s in part because Wolseley Avenue already has a 30 km/h speed limit and traffic calming measures from Raglan Road to Maryland Street, as a “neighbourhood greenway” that aims to safely move cyclists, pedestrians and cars, Gilroy said.

She believes her proposed speed-limit reduction would complement that existing route.

“People have naturally slowed down in that area because of (the greenway) and the buses aren’t really doing that,” she said.

Margerit Roger, who lives in the area, supports the call to reduce the speed limit.

“There’s been an exponential increase in the amount of bus traffic. But (it would help a lot) if they were quieter, slower buses that didn’t shake… my house,” said Roger.

She stressed public transportation and “community wellbeing” are both important priorities.

Roger said relatively fast-moving buses appear to have added congestion and encouraged other drivers to speed up, creating safety concerns. She said the buses create so much noise that it deters her from spending time on her porch or in her backyard.

Coun. Janice Lukes, chairwoman of public works, said she broadly supports speed-limit reductions but doesn’t expect to vote for this isolated change. Lukes said city traffic experts are expected to report later this year on the impact of a pilot project that reduced speed limits in four neighbourhoods.

That project cut 50 km/h speed limits to 30 km/h in Bourkevale and Tyndall Park (South), and 40 km/h in Worthington and Richmond West. Lukes said the results should be analyzed to guide future speed limit decisions.

However, she said she understands why ramping up transit frequency could be disruptive.

“When a bus goes whizzing by at 50 km/h… if you’re not used to (it), you will notice it,” she said.

Lukes said she is concerned slowing down a key bus route would affect the transit network.

“If you take a bus from 50 km/h and put it down to 30 km/h, that’s going to impact timing, scheduling, everything,” she said.

By contrast, Gilroy said she expects the change would have little impact on transit since it would apply to a limited area.

The motion to reduce the speed limit will be considered at a Sept. 29 city centre community committee meeting.

Any speed limit change would require city council approval.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

X: @joyanne_pursaga