Proposed 30 km/h implementation plan

On February 27, 2023, staff will present a report on Speed Management on Residential Streets – Proposed 30 km/h Speed Limit Implementation Plan (report begins on page 89) to Council. This new report follows the revised approved motion from Council on June 13, 2022:

That staff are directed to implement Option B (30 km/hr) on all class 4 (collector) and 5 (local) residential streets as outlined in report IPPW2022-017 (page 64), subject to a revised implementation plan, to be approved by Council at later date, that is context sensitive to individual streets that may require 40 km/hr signage.

Staff reviewed the Transportation Master Plan (TMP) as well as Transportation Association of Canada guidelines to help identify roadways that should remain with a posted speed limit of 40 km/h or 50 km/h based on context. The experience of various other Canadian cities that have implemented reduced speed limits was also considered.

Based on this work, staff have assessed four options to address Council’s June 13, 2022 motion:

	Speed Limits (km/h)
Option	Class 5 (Local) Roads	Class 4 (Minor Collector) Roads	Class 4 (Major Collector) Roads	School Zones
1 - Baseline	30	30	30	30
2a	30	40	40	30
2b	30	40	50	30
3	30	40	50	30

Further details on the differences between the options and implementation are available In the report. Staff recommend that Option 2b be approved by Council.

Staff further recommend that Option 2b be completed in four phases, beginning in the spring of 2023 and completed in the fall of 2026. The four phases are suggested to be:

Phase 1, Spring 2023
School areas
Progress report: February 2024

Phase 2, Spring 2024
Wards 2 and 7 (including Kitchener border streets)
Progress report: February 2025

Phase 3, Spring 2025
Wards 4, 5 and 6
Progress report: February 2026

Phase 4, Spring 2026
Wards 3 and 1, plus adjustments to school zones as required

Timelines are subject to change and will be based on staff resources and other operational priorities.

For more information, see the full report IPPW2023-001 in the Council packet for February 27, 2023 (report is on page 89 of the packet). The Council meeting can be watched live on the City's YouTube channel. The portion of the meeting containing this report will reconvene about 6:30 p.m. (see Agenda for details).