Black Diamond council holds off on speed limit reduction decision

Discussions surrounding lowering the speed limit in Black Diamond’s northwest quadrant didn’t last long, as town council agreed at its Aug. 4 meeting to hold off on making a decision.

Councillor Veronica Kloiber brought the topic to council last spring after the Town received a letter from a resident suggesting the speed limit be lowered from 50 km/hr to 30.

At that time, council requested administration to collect more information, including observing traffic patterns and speeds in the quadrant and having residents weigh in with their thoughts.

“A resident wrote a letter issuing a complaint that the speeds were too high in the northwest side, particularly to and from Vale’s (Greenhouse) and the dog park,” Kloiber said of her reason for bringing it to council last spring. “They took the time to write the letter, so I thought we could look into it.”

Kloiber, who lives in the northwest, said she’s unable to reach 50 km/hr on the northwest quadrant’s avenues, which aren’t paved.

“They’re so short and the roads are in rough shape,” she said. “Forty is where you top out before you have to stop for the next intersection.”

Yet, Kloiber has her own concerns about the northwest.

“Drivers aren’t always observant at the corners,” she said. “And I thought lowering the speed limit might help preserve the road surface a little bit.”

Coun. Jackie Stickel suggested council hold off on deciding to lower speed limits until after Black Diamond and Turner Valley councils decide on whether or not to submit an application for amalgamation to the Minister of Municipal Affairs later this summer.

“I think that we should accept it for information purposes, knowing that going forward the speed limit of the whole community would probably have to be addressed in the near future,” she said, referring to Turner Valley reducing its 50 km/h zones to 40 km/h in 2016. “There is no point in doing one part of the town at this time.”

Council unanimously agreed, and voted to accept administration's report for information purposes.

Sharlene Brown, chief administrative officer, had provided council with some background, including the results of protective services officers assessing and monitoring speeds in the area from late April to June 15 to determine if speeding is an issue. The report shows that one vehicle exceeded the speed limit.

Brown said both officers spent about one hour per shift, at different times during the day, and that they don’t recommend a speed limit reduction in the northwest quadrant.

She added that a notification was dropped off to homes in the northwest requesting that residents interested in seeing a speed reduction contact her.

“I did get two written responses suggesting we may need to reduce the speed, especially in the back alleys because there were some people speeding in the back alleys, according to them, and there’s increased traffic on 3rd Avenue west near Vale’s Greenhouse,” Brown said. “Another resident, also on 3rd Street NW, was concerned about the speed, but suggested maybe there needs to be some social education on how parents need to look after their children more proactively in playground zones.”

A change in the speed limit would require the purchase of 12 to 15 signs, said Brown, costing the Town about $7,500.

If council chooses to consider lowering the speed limit in the future, Brown recommended a public participation event take place, including a survey, to determine residents’ desire or lack thereof to lower the speed limit.