District of Squamish plans to reduce speed limit on local roads

The District of Squamish is exploring speed limit reductions on local roads and is inviting public input to identify the areas where speeding is a concern.

The District is launching the first phase of public engagement to improve road safety, encourage sustainable transportation options and improve neighbourhood connectivity.

“Road safety is a shared community objective that we believe folks can agree on,” said Mayor Armand Hurford. “We want to learn from pedestrians, cyclists, micro-mobility users, and drivers, where the critical concerns are finding a balance between safety, speed and efficiency. All road users deserve to feel comfortable, confident, and safe when moving through the community.”

Municipalities have the authority to change the default speed limit of 50 kilometres per hour, set by the BC Motor Vehicle Act. Council and staff have previously discussed options for lowering speed limits across the community, including District-wide, area-specific, or street-/corridor-specific speed reductions.

Along with reducing speed, the District said it will continue implementing the 2016 Active Transportation Plan to increase the number of sidewalks and improve cycling route connections.

“While good progress has been made since 2016, Active Transportation infrastructure is costly, so the District is limited in the number of projects it can construct each year. Changes to speed limits are being looked at as a low-cost contribution to improving road safety for all road users,” the District said in a press release.

“The District recently collected public input during its Transportation Master Plan engagement, which told us there is community interest in reducing vehicle speeds where pedestrians, especially school children, walk, ride, and roll,” says District General Manager of Community Development Julie Wengi. “We believe there is support for a conversation about speed limit reductions and hope residents get involved.”

Community Input Needed

The district seeks feedback from residents of all ages, neighbourhoods, and transportation preferences to understand the areas of concern regarding traffic speeds. The community is being asked to share locations where speed is a concern through an online mapping tool. The tool can be found at letstalksquamish.ca/speedlimits.

This preliminary input will help better understand road users’ speed-related perceptions and concerns – people walking, cycling, rolling and driving. This feedback will help guide the District’s overall approach to considering speed limit changes in Squamish. The online mapping tool is open through Monday, April 8, on letstalksquamish.ca/speedlimits.

Residents are asked to identify locations where vehicle speed is a concern.

The online mapping tool is easy to use, and identifying an area of concern takes approximately 30 seconds per location. Residents are also invited to The 55 Activity Centre to add a comment to a physical map. Staff will be available for questions on Thursday, March 21, from noon to 2 p.m. The map will then remain posted through April 8 so that residents can stop by and add a comment.

The feedback results, speed limit reduction options and scenarios for discussion and feedback will be shared with the community this spring. The mapping tool, detailed project and timeline information are all available at letstalksquamish.ca/speedlimits.