Kamloops considers 30 km/h speed limits in two neighbourhoods

Drivers in Kamloops may soon be limited to school zone speeds in two entire neighbourhoods.

It’s part of a local pilot project, but it could be expanded to enforce a 30 km/h limit across all residential streets if successful.

If the speed limit seems slow, the process to adopt the pilot project may be even slower. City staff picked the Sagebrush and the North Shore neighbourhoods around McDonald Park in November after Coun. Stephen Karpuk floated the idea last summer.

It started as a proposal to consider adopting the reduced speed across all residential streets, but it was later reduced to a test in just a couple neighbourhoods.

City transportation engineer Nii Noi Akeutteh said the studies would last for at least six months if approved.

Council will hear the details at a meeting on Jan. 20, but there likely won’t be any decisions made until a later date, and it’s not clear when that may be.

The city adopted a Vision Zero policy in 2023, which is a strategy aimed at reducing traffic deaths. Little has been done since then to reduce dangerous traffic conditions, so the pilot project would be a major step.

The McDonald Park area, bordered by Tranquille Road to the east and 8 Street to the north, and Sagebrush were chosen because they see more collisions and reports of speeding per square-kilometre, according to a staff report.

Kamloops wouldn’t be the first to adopt a lower speed limit in recent years. Victoria and Saanich, for example, have reduced the limit on many residential streets to 30 km/h limits. In 2018, Campbell River opted for 40 km/h limits out of concern there would be too many speeders if it was set too low.

Meanwhile, Surrey tried both 30 and 40 km/h limits in a handful of residential neighbourhoods. Staff there found drivers were less likely to follow the rules with the slower speed and though there was some success with the 40 km/h limit, opted against extending the pilot in 2023. Instead, Surrey advocated for a reduction in the province-wide residential limit to 40 km/h.