“It bothers me to no end that we are unable to enjoy a morning bike ride to school, or walk with my dog to the grocery store, because we are at risk of being hit by vehicles. Reducing the speed limit is an easy first step.”
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Regina’s executive committee has endorsed recommendations to lower the speed limit in Cathedral and adopt a new pedestrian safety strategy, despite one councillor’s concern about the guiding report’s collection of public feedback.
A report considered Wednesday asked for support to establish the city’s first Community Safety Zone in the Cathedral neighbourhood and lower the speed limit inside its borders to 30 km/h from 50 km/h.
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City councillors voted in favour of the recommendation, after several hours of quizzing city staff, police and other delegates on Regina’s collision data.
Delegate Nicole Strandlund enthusiastically endorsed the idea of lowering the speed limit in her neighbourhood.
“It bothers me to no end that we are unable to enjoy a morning bike ride to school, or walk with my dog to the grocery store, because we are at risk of being hit by vehicles,” she said. “Reducing the speed limit is an easy first step.”
Rolled into the recommendation was also a report prepared by private consultants CIMA Canada Inc., outlining a Vision Zero Framework for the City of Regina to consider adopting.
It includes significant analysis of Regina’s traffic collision data and 114 recommended changes the city and other partner agencies could implement to improve walking and cycling safety citywide including infrastructure investment and educational campaigns.
Speed limit reductions in other neighbourhoods is also being considered, but in light of two fatalities on 13th Avenue last year, city staff recommend starting in Cathedral.
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Coun. Andrew Stevens, who represents Ward 3 including Cathedral, said he received “dozens” of communications asking for more pedestrian protection after a second person died in a collision this December.
“Residents actually wanted these initiatives to go all the way to Lewvan,” he said. “There was some frustration there wasn’t enough in the infrastructure investments.”
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Speed limit reductions in other neighbourhoods are also being considered, but in light of two fatalities on 13th Avenue last year, city staff recommend prioritizing Cathedral.
City council members were in all in favour of the idea, save for Coun. Bob Hawkins (Ward 2) who argued a more robust public survey should be done before city council pursues something that impacts so many residents.
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His reluctance comes only from the concern “people might push back and say, ‘well this is a stealth attempt to achieve a broader effect.’”
“I’d rather people understand in advance what are the implications of this,” he said.
Hawkins moved to refer the directive to amend the Regina Traffic Bylaw to reflect lower speed limits in Cathedral ahead to early 2025, to allow for more public engagement.
He said he was “troubled by the process” of the discussion on council floor, which he said showed data presents only a “causational” relationship in relation to the issue.
“There are gaps in data,” he said. “Data won’t help you sort out your priorities.”
City manager Niki Anderson asked for clarification from Hawkins on what he wanted administration to do to satisfy a request for further engagement.
“I’ll stand by the fact that we did do engagement,” she said. “I’m baffled by the comment that we did not engage.”
Stakeholders were consulted in CIMA’s review, including Regina police, SGI and the Cathedral Village Community Association.
Four public engagement sessions and a BeHeard Regina campaign forum were also held in 2023, with some public turnout. Results from those focus groups weren’t available Wednesday.
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Hawkins said he wants town hall-sized feedback, not small focus groups, and more than just contact with a community association.
The referral motion lost in a 4-6 vote, with councillors Jason Mancinelli (Ward 9), John Findura (Ward 5), Hawkins and Mayor Sandra Masters in favour.
The framework presented Wednesday was a high-level suggestion, seeking endorsement from city council to move forward, said deputy city manager of city operations Kurtis Doney.
All measures in the framework would go through a committee phase before any decisions on implementation are made, Doney noted.
Now endorsed by executive committee, both the Vision Zero plan and Cathedral’s Community Safety Zone will go for next stage approval by city council on April 10.
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