Kitchener council votes to increase speed limits in school zones with cameras

Kitchener city council has voted to increase speed limits to 40 km/h in school zones that are monitored by photo radar.

Councillors made the decision at Monday night’s meeting.

At the moment, it affects just the two Kitchener school zones that already have automatic speed enforcement cameras, but that number is set to rise to seven by the end of the year.

COUNCIL DEBATE

The speed limit in most Kitchener school zones is currently 30 km/h. City staff had recommended increasing the limit to 40 km/h on what they call “major community collector and city arterial streets.”

Staff said there are a total of 34 school zones on these types of streets, which are typically designed for higher speeds and larger traffic volumes. Examples include Westheights Drive and Franklin Boulevard.

Of those 34, 18 are school zones on regional roads, which were permanently set at 40 km/h by regional council last month.

Kitchener’s manager of transportation safety and policy Aaron McCrimmon-Jones said bringing the remaining major roads under the city’s jurisdiction up to 40 km/h would “develop consistent driving behaviours, prevent confusion and prioritize the safety of residents of all ages who utilize school properties throughout the year and outside of regular school hours.”

But councillors had concerns about the impact of automatic speed enforcement cameras, which are being rolled out across the region.

“I had a constituent, on Christmas morning, who was driving on Franklin Avenue, in front of Franklin School doing 41 [km/h] and he got a ticket,” said Coun. Dave Schnider.

Some councillors had suggested turning off the cameras during non-school hours and holidays, but since the cameras are operated by the region, they were told that wouldn’t be possible.

A speed camera is pictured in May 2023 on a street in Waterloo region. (Dan Lauckner/CTV News)

Coun. Scott Davey suggested leaving the speed limit at 30 km/h in school zones without a camera, but increasing it to 40 km/h in those with photo radar.

“Frankly, I think it’s punitive that we are seeing situations where people are getting speeding tickets for doing 41 km/h on Christmas day,” Davey said. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned from our bylaw [unit]’s approach… it’s that we don’t operate punitively to change behaviour. I think this is an approach that tries to reach this balance.”

The majority of councillors backed Davey’s motion, although some voiced concerns the conversation had focused too much on drivers and not enough on children's safety.

“The simple fact that we bring drivers’ comfort into the equation seems to me problematic,” Coun. Debbie Chapman said. “We’re talking about a stretch of 100 to 150 metres in front of schools, we’re not talking about 2 km of slow down.”

CITY PLAN

Speaking Tuesday, McCrimmon-Jones said the increased speed limits and new signage for the two school zones with cameras are expected to be in place early in the new year.

Kitchener will get speed cameras in five additional school zones by the end of 2024. The locations for these new cameras hasn’t been decided yet.

“We're currently working through the modeling and the evaluation to determine which locations, which schools are most warranted and the highest priority based on criteria like collisions, the amount of speeding that's currently happening there, how many children are walking to that school,” McCrimmon-Jones said, noting it’s part of the city’s Vision Zero plan, which seeks to eliminate serious injuries and deaths due to traffic collisions.