Committee to consider speed limit changes to Arcola, Dewdney avenues

A city committee will consider speed limit changes to a pair of heavily travelled roads in Regina.

The operations and community services committee meets Tuesday at 2 p.m., when it will be presented with proposed changes to the Regina Traffic Bylaw.

A report from city administration recommends extending the 60 kilometre-per-hour zone on Arcola Avenue, proposing it to run from Victoria Avenue to 150 metres east of University Park Drive.

The goal is to improve safety and reduce crashes as vehicles merge from Ring Road.

“This road segment has high traffic volumes and a higher frequency of collisions due to its proximity to Highway 1A,” the report says. “It may also reduce the frequency of preventable collisions such as rear ends and side swipes.”

The committee will consider a speed reduction further to the southeast of Arcola. A speed limit of 70 km/h is proposed for the portion between Chuka Boulevard and the east city limits.

“The changes will allow for consistency and lessen confusion between existing speed limit signs and the 80 kilometres per hour speed limit in the current traffic bylaw,” the report says.

Along Dewdney Avenue, the proposal is to have the traffic move at 70 kilometres per hour from Courtney Street to just west of Fleming Road. After that point, the speed limit would be 80 km/h to the west city limit.

Other proposed changes include defining “school days,” which would affect the enforcement of no stopping and no parking signage in school zones. The amendment would have those days to mean Mondays to Fridays between Sept. 1 and June 30, excluding holidays.

Also recommended were limiting vehicles from stopping within 10 metres of a pedestrian ramp at T intersections, setting a two-hour limit for recreation vehicles parked within 30 metres of a street intersection or painted crosswalk, and setting the fee for a block party at $30.