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UPDATE: M.L. council changes Highway 4 speed limit

Sep 27, 2016 | 12:00 PM

UPDATE: Last night, Meadow Lake city council unanimously approved a change to the speed limit on the portion of Highway 4 which travels through the city.

The approval comes after the Aug. 22 meeting where council was first presented with the request.

The speed zone on the segment of road travelling through the city will change from 60 km/h to 50 km/h while the current 100 km/h zone south of Lions Park will be reduced to 70 km/h.

City staff ordered signs which should arrive within the next four to six weeks and installed shortly after.

Upon being installed, there’s up to a six month wait time before the limit is enforceable as approvals have to also be given by the Ministry of Highways.

Meanwhile, ordered along with the speed signs are flashing speed limit signs which will be installed on the north and south end of Highway 4 and pedestrian activated flashing amber lights for the crosswalk on Seventh Ave.

 

 

It wasn’t in the plans but a public cry for increased road safety has led Meadow Lake city council to make some changes in terms of speed limits and invest in flashing lights.

While the Seventh Ave. approach to the West Service Rd. was blocked this past spring, public hearings were held to determine if it would remain closed. During those discussions, the public swayed the conversation to pedestrian safety and asked for improvements.

The city listened. Diana Burton, city manager, said pedestrian-activated flashing amber lights will be added to the crosswalk while the 60 km/h speed limit will be reduced to 50 km/h. Signs showing drivers their speed will be installed on Highway 4 on the south and north ends coming into the city.

“Typically you don’t see just a pedestrian crosswalk across a main highway,” Burton said. “The reason ours is there is because students from the schools were crossing to get to McDonald’s. We put in a pedestrian crosswalk so there was a legal way to cross and what we heard was the signs there aren’t safe enough and drivers in general weren’t paying enough attention.”

Council unanimously approved the project during its Monday, Aug. 22 meeting. Since it wasn’t in the initial budget, council asked for the $36,000 to be offset without taking funds away from other areas.

Burton said since the projects are an addition to the 2016 plans, and with council’s request, there will be a budget increase which could make the difference between a surplus or deficit.

Adamant about completing the project this year, Coun. Kim Chiverton said if there are plans to do it, the time is now.

“I think we have to show some signs of resolve to our discussions,” he said, referring to the public hearings and conversations he had with members of the public.

Between May and June, Coun. Conrad Read, with the Department of Highways and Transportation pulled data off a speed sign by running it for a week, turning it off for two weeks then back on. He said the sign slowed drivers down by roughly seven kilometres.

“The data I checked is consistent. I talked with some of the business owners and for the larger trucks, it makes a world of difference. The average driver becomes more aware of their speed and tend to slow down,” Read said.

City staff remain hopeful everything will be installed by mid-October.

Meanwhile, council passed another bylaw regarding traffic during the August meeting. The no parking areas along Third St. E. and the one hour parking at the new pull-outs along the West Service Rd. will be enforced with parking tickets while the new no parking area along Eighth Ave. W. will go through a period with warning tickets then to fines.

The penalty is $25 or $15 if paid within a certain timeframe.

 

Colton Swiderski is meadowlakeNOW’s municipal affairs, crime and court, health and education reporter. He can be reached at cswiderski@jpbg.ca or tweet him @coltonswiderski.