Quebec should reduce speed limits from 50km/h to 30km/h, pedestrian group says
Posted February 6, 2024 2:34 pm.
Last Updated February 6, 2024 6:32 pm.
Should Quebec reduce speed limits from 50 kilometres per hour to 30 kilometres per hour in cities across the province? That’s what a non-profit organization that advocates for pedestrian safety is calling for.
Piétons Québec says Bill 48, an Act mainly amending the Highway Safety Code, does not go far enough in ensuring the safety of pedestrians.
As public hearings and consultations are being held in Quebec City this week about amending the bill, the group has put forward 22 recommendations to ensure pedestrian safety.
Piétons Québec wants 30km/h to become “the reference in urbanized areas.”
“It would still be possible to establish a higher speed limit if it is considered more appropriate, as it is the case actually, the design speed limit is actually set at 50 km/h, but a speed limit of 30 km/h in front of a park or of 70 km/h on a boulevard can be set,” Sandrine Cabana-Degani, the executive director of Piétons Québec, told CityNews in a statement.
Cabana-Degani explains the idea behind this “is to change the social norm.”
“Changing the design speed limit will influence the conception of roads,” she said. “If it is determined that a higher speed limit is more appropriate on certain streets, there will be a responsibility to foresee infrastructures which protect vulnerable road users.
“30 km/h is the adequate speed for safe cohabitation. This is what the World Health Organization says we have to do to save lives. We need to send a strong message to the population and to road managers to that end.”
According to Piétons Québec, pedestrians have a 90 per cent chance of surviving being struck by a car going 30 kilometres per hour compared to a 25 per cent survival rate if hit by a car going 50 kilometres per hour.
“I think it’s good to do that because there’s a lot of crazy drivers around, especially downtown,” one person told CityNews about the idea.
“Yeah, I think it’s more dangerous than it needs to be,” added another.
Another 15 recommendations from parents federation
Corrine Payne, the executive director of the Federation of Parents’ Committees of Quebec, will be putting forward their own recommendations in front of the committee on Wednesday.
“Thirty kilometres in school zones is a must,” Payne said. “Most people think that’s what it is already, but it’s not, ironically. There are many exceptions.
“Very often the streets that are directly touching the school are ‘well protected’ but often children are passing by other ways to get to schools… It’s not just the streets that need to be considered but all the paths that children (take), and that’s a recommendation that I will be making tomorrow.”
CityNews reached out to the Quebec transportation minister’s office for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Last summer, Quebec Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault announced an action plan to ensure road safety. This came after Quebec saw a rise in the number of people who were killed on the road in 2022.
CAA-Quebec says 80 per cent of deaths on Quebec roads happen because of faulty human behaviour, including distracted driving, fatigue, driving under the influence or speeding.
According to Montreal police, last year, there were 16 pedestrian deaths, 42 pedestrians were seriously injured, and over 800 pedestrians were slightly injured by another vehicle.
“The vehicle speed should be decreased, otherwise there will be a lot of chance for accidents,” one Montrealer told CityNews.
“I’m more for the speed reduction if there is another measure applied for the convenience of the other drivers too,” added another.
