What really reduces speeding? (Hint: It's not lowering the speed limit)

Ottawa city council seems on course totake what might seem like a bold step at its meeting Wednesdaybyapproving the first-ever30 km/hspeed limit for some Ottawa streets.

Too bad itwon't work.

• Transportation committee approves new 30 km/h speed limit

There are a number of issues with the proposed go-slowpolicy. For one thing, there areso many caveats to qualify for the new, lowerlimit thatrelatively few corners of the city will ever meet them.

Here's a look at a few of the other speed bumps along the way to slower traffic.

Lowering limit has 'minimal impact'

Even in places that would qualify for the new speed limit, a posted 30 km/hsign alone won't slow traffic, and city staff know it.

According to their report on the policy, "studies have shown that reducing the speed limit on a roadway has minimal impact on the operating speed unless the roadway conditions cater to the lower speed limit as well."

"People drive at the speed they feel comfortable at, not what the posted speed is," said HeidiCousineau,the city's program manager for area traffic management.

So what does slow vehicles down? Physical impediments, narrowing of streets andphoto radar. It's the fearofcrashing, damaging our cars, or hefty fines that lifts our foot off the pedal, not signage.

Bumps, bulges, staggered parking

The city uses different strategiesfor different streets. In some cases, speed bumps, humps or"tables" basically a wider speed bump with a flattened top are installed on side streets where speeding is a proven issue.

And because wide-open roads encouragespeeding,the city's traffic management folks try to make streets skinnier to slow traffic.

This can be accomplished with physical stuff curbs that bulge out in mid-block or at the corners, planters and raised intersections. In factthe city's own consultants suggestadding such physical features to streets that get a 30 km/h limit, just to make sure.

Other measuressuch aspainted bike lanes and on-street parkingcan narrow roads, too.Even making a crosswalk more visiblethink of the rainbow-stripedones inCentretowncan have an impact on speed.

One of the more interesting techniques to calm traffic is staggered parking, where cars are allowed to park on just one side of the road, but the side where parking is allowed changes from block to block. The strategy works well ona relatively long street where parking is in demand.

"Staggered parking is not a physical thing, but it makes drivers feel more constricted," saidCousineau. "You can't just go straight down the road."

Thesemeasures slow averagespeeds downanywherefrom 2 to 8 km/h, saidCousineau. If that seems minor, consider that a decrease in speed by even a few km/h means a drivercan stopfour or fivemetres sooner, depending on how fast the car is going in the first place.

That four or five metres can be the difference between a pedestrian being killed or seriously injured, andescaping tragedy.

Long wait list, expensive fixes

Councillorssayspeeding is one of thebiggest complaints from their constituents.

Communities wait years to have their traffic issued dealt with. At any given time city staff have 60 small traffic measure requests on the waiting list, but the city only gets to five to eight every year.

And there are a dozen larger neighbourhood projects waiting; city staff complete about two ayear. If a complaint involving a clear and present danger comes along, it goes to the top of the list, bumping other projects.

The fixes aren't cheap.

In 2012, council pumped$2.5 million into the traffic-calming programto clear out a backlog of projects left over from pre-amalgamation. But most yearsthe budget is about $650,000.

Speed bumps or tables added to existing roads can cost anywhere from $8,000to $10,000 each. Narrowing a street by extending a curb or corner can come with a $50,000 price tag. A raised intersection goes for a cool $150,000.

Major traffic-calming infrastructureis almost never built as a retrofit.

"The bang for the buck isn't worth it," saidCousineau.

Instead, those sorts of measures areincorporated at an incremental cost into larger projects,such as the raised intersection at Queen and Bank streets, which was installedas part of the Confederation Line project.

Photo radar cheaper option?

Last year citycouncil asked the province to allow it to conduct photo radar pilot projects in school zones and on residential streets. But the Liberals aregoing one better: they'regoing to allow all municipalities to install photo radar in school zones and neighbourhoods that a city council designates as"community safety zones."

• Mayor Jim Watson not convinced photo radar necessary
• Kathleen Wynne introduces new photo radar legislation for Ontario

The proposed legislationenvisions these special zones as ones that include a school, daycare, playground or park, hospital or seniors residence. The community safety zone designation can also be used for "collision prone areas."

Virtually any residential area would meet theseprerequisites.

And so, instead of waiting years for a speed bumps, a community could apply for speed limits enforced by photo radar, which would actually make money as opposed to costing millions. In fact council has pledged to directphoto radar revenue solely to fund road safety measures.

As for effectiveness, consider the example of Medicine Hat, Alta. In a report released last year that reviewed a decade of photo radar data in the small city, officials found that average speed a 50 km/h zone monitored by photo radarwas 48.7 km/h; for a 30 km/h zone, the average was 28.5 km/h.

It's hard not to see photo radar as the most cost-effective way to control speeding.

Sure, voting in a 30 km/h speed limit sends the right message. But it's an empty gesture if there's no enforcement to back it up.