Impact of slow down campaign debated

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This article was published 02/11/2021 (1429 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

They’ve added a pop of sunshine yellow, blue outlines of small children and a clear safety message to hundreds of Winnipeg yards over the past few years.

It’s clear there has been some demand for the signs warning drivers to “Please slow down” in blue capital letters.

On social media, some folks described the signage as a non-offensive, “friendly reminder” to drive safely. Yet others appear divided on how effective the Winnipeg Committee for Safety campaign is.

An advocate pushing for the City of Winnipeg to lower its residential speed limit to 30 km/h from 50 km/h said she’s not convinced the signs produce their desired effect.

“I think they give people the sense of control… but if the city knows speeding is a problem, how is this actually addressing the problem? This could give the illusion of improving safety,” Emma Durand-Wood, a volunteer with Safe Speeds Winnipeg, said Tuesday.

Instead of sharing a reminder to slow down, she said the city should reduce the speed limit to change driver behaviour. “I think people who are really brazenly speeding aren’t looking at signs on the side of the road.”

The Winnipeg Committee for Safety launched the sign campaign in 2018 to encourage drivers to reduce speeds, in hopes it would prevent traffic collisions and injuries.

Coun. Cindy Gilroy, who helped lead the initial campaign, said the signs quickly became popular, so up to 100 more were provided for each city councillor to give out in 2020.

Gilroy said the display may not alter the habits of persistent scofflaws but do remind folks who became distracted while driving to check their speed.

“It is a (visual) reminder… there’s kids around here, slow down,” she said.

The Daniel McIntyre councillor said she hopes the city will permanently reduce the residential speed limit to 30 km/h, something a pilot project is now testing on four local street sections.

“In an urban environment, we want to have safe communities where people feel that they can… walk around their community, cycle within their community without having a fear of being hit by a car,” she said.

A public service report says the city can’t evaluate the actual impact of the signs on vehicle speed, since the signs were handed out to any resident who asked, with no parameters or rules set to study them in a set area.

The city did seek feedback from those who signed up to get the signs in 2020, for which 535 different households provided an address.

About 138 responded to questions about the program, with 94 per cent saying they supported it and 94 per cent also agreeing the signs should continue to be available to Winnipeggers.

However, just 45 per cent believed drivers slowed down after viewing the signs, while 39 per cent felt they didn’t. The rest answered the response was “neutral” or they weren’t sure about it.

Winnipegger Ray Hignell said he opposes both the sign campaign and calls to lower the speed limit.

“I find (the signs) offensive. What I get is the law is the law and the law is 50 (km/h). It’s not up to somebody else to appoint themselves… to tell me or anyone else that they should be driving slower,” said Hignell.

He fears a reduced speed limit could create congestion without resulting in notable safety improvements.

“It will slow some (drivers) down and they’ll spend more time wasting their time in traffic and it won’t solve anything,” said Hignell.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyannne_pursaga