Regina should reduce its school zone speed to 30 km/h: committee

Regina should reduce its school zone speedsto 30 km/h from 40 km/h, according to a committee tasked with studying how to make school zones safer.

In fall 2016, a committee comprised of civic traffic staffand representatives from school boards and the Regina Police Service was struck to discuss different ideas from council on how school zones could be made safer, including speedreductions andnew signage.

"The committee was supportive of a reduction to 30 km/h in school zones, based on the increased rate of survival for vehicleversus pedestriancollisions, compared with collisions that occur with vehicle speeds of 40km/h," reads a report headed to Wednesday's meeting of theexecutive committee.

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As of the start of the school year, there were 68 school zones throughout the city.

The report said committee members found examples of 30 km/h school zones in Edmonton, Calgary and Saskatoon.

"However, additional statistical analysis on the impact of a change in speed limits still needs to be researched by administration before providing a recommendation."

According to the report, the committee was initially formed to study school zone safety over the 2016/17 school year and provide recommendations this past spring on what could be done.

However, members encountered issues with the committee's structure, noting a lack of governance so they were "hesitant" to provide recommendations on the best engineering practices and potential improvements, the reportsays.

The report says the committee has been restructured and will continue to study school zone safety and provide final recommendations sometime in 2018.