NO NEED FOR SPEED: Kamloops to consider lowering limit to 30 km/h on residential streets

A Kamloops city councillor has pitched an idea to reduce the speed limit on residential streets in the city.

If approved, every speed limit on residential streets would be reduced to school zone speeds, 30 km/h, unless otherwise posted.

“Basically what we need to look at is: are we prioritizing the movement of people or traffic?” Coun. Stephen Karpuk said at a committee meeting this week.

The mass speed reduction would be one of the city’s first major traffic policy shifts to address road safety since adopting a “vision zero” plan in 2023, which aimed to end traffic-related injuries and deaths.

“I think we need to recognize kids play in these areas at all hours and, if we value the members of our community, this makes sense,” Karpuk said.

He cited examples across BC and in other countries where similar speed reductions have already been adopted, namely Vancouver and Victoria.

Coun. Margot Middleton expressed some reservations about the idea, pointing specifically to more frequently used and faster routes like Westsyde Road, where such a speed reduction “wouldn’t fly.”

Karpuk and city staff said it would only apply to residential streets where it’s typically only local traffic, rather than more commonly travelled routes.

The city councillor also floated other traffic calming measures to be considered in the future, like “bump-outs” which narrow the street and tend to encourage slower speeds.

He also suggested the possibility of adding speed cameras to catch speeders in the city.

Calgary and Saskatoon were raised as examples of where speed cameras are common, either on highways passing through the cities or in school zones, where they are overseen by bylaw departments.

Speed cameras were scrapped in BC more than 20 years ago, however, and haven’t really been reconsidered since. Provincial laws would have to change to allow the cameras before Kamloops could consider installing them.

The council committee asked staff to study which residential streets could have the speed limit reduced to 30 km/h and which streets should be excluded. It’s not clear how long that could take, and the matter will return to council to consider at a later date.