More than a dozen school zones across Chatham-Kent will soon be getting a little safer.
Municipal council members voted in favour of implementing reduced speed limits and community safety zones on various roadways in school areas across the area.
A maximum speed of 40 kilometres per hour will come into effect at 23 school zones in communities including Wallaceburg, Ridgetown, Merlin, Dover, Chatham, and Bothwell.
The reduced speed zones will extend 150 m beyond the school property limits in each direction on the adjacent roadway. The reduced speed zones will also be accompanied by community safety zones, which will extend up to 100 m further beyond the reduced speed limit zones. The reduced speed limit zones for any schools that are located on a roadway that has a speed limit of 70 or 80 hm/hour are allowed to be set at a maximum of 50 km/hour instead of 40 km/hour, as per Ministry of Transportation recommendations.
The introduction of the safety zones was originally approved by council in January 2018. The new zones are Phase 2 of the project and include both public and private schools as well as both elementary and secondary schools. In Phase 1, which is expected to be completed by September this year, 15 school zones were selected.
The reduced speed limits and community safety zone will be in effect at all times -- not just during school hours. Fines issued for traffic-related offences including speeding, running a stop sign or illegal turns are doubled if they are committed in a safety zone.
Now that the new zones have been approved by council, municipal staff will begin work on making amendments to by-laws and installing signage. Approximately 160 new sign installations and sign adjustments are required to implement the new zones. The estimated cost of the project is around $64,000, which will be funded through Chatham-Kent's Lifecycle Roads Budget.
There is currently no word on when the 23 newly approved zones will officially come into effect. The municipality will eventually also move forward with Phase 3 when they will decide where to place the remaining reduced speed limit and community safety zones.
To read the complete report and see a list of the areas that were approved for Phase 2, click here.