MOOSE JAW — , city hall now plans to replace signs near playgrounds and other public venues.
The city’s goals this year include installing updated parking signs around school perimeters, adopting similar speed limits and times — 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week — for playground zones and conducting an information campaign to promote the changes.
Tyler Erickson, manager of engineering services, presented the proposed changes during city council’s recent executive committee meeting.
“We wanted to do this information campaign sooner, but as you know, signs are made of aluminum and posts are made of steel, and both of those are affected by tariffs … ,” he said.
However, engineering services will proceed with this project since it tendered the initiative early enough and will use contractors’ existing materials, so the tax penalties should be minimal, he continued.
Engineering services used the Transportation Association of Canada (TAC) manual to determine which school and playground locations should have new signs to be consistent across the city, Erickson said.
Specifically, the manual’s worksheet helped staff determine whether a playground was an area or a zone since the latter would be reduced to 30 km/h based on how many children used that green space, the presence of play structures and the park’s size.
Department staff reviewed 30 sites and found that 21 were 40 km/h, but following the TAC worksheet, only 14 locations require lower speed limits, said Erickson. However, by applying “additional reasoning,” 18 total sites will see reduced speeds.
Ch-ch-ch-changes for motorists
Three playground areas that are 40 km/h — Wood Lily Park on Wood Lily Drive, Regal Heights Park on 13th Avenue Northwest and Optimist Park on Lillooet Street — will return to 50 km/h because they are a collector road, have good sightlines, are a sports field, are fully fenced or use a Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon (RRFB), he continued. There will also be other additions, such as more painted lines, stop signs, RRFBs and concrete ramps.
Furthermore, Elgin Park on Oxford Street West and West End Park on Athabasca Street West will increase to 50 km/h from 40 km/h, with the adjacent collector roads having playground area signs and the actual park having playground zone signs.
Also, the areas around Westmount, St. Mary, Sacred Heart and Empire schools will transition from school zone signs to playground area signs once they close. However, Parkhill Park east of Westmount will retain 30 km/h signs.
Unique areas
There are some “unique areas” with speed limits that will remain the same since changing them could create an “awkward transition” for motorists, said Erickson.
The Kinsmen Sportsplex — which has a fenced parking area with an RRFB crossing — will remain at 40 km/h, while the nearby Bullet Adams ball diamond does not warrant a playground zone speed limit sign, he continued. Also, McDonald Street from Ninth to Seven Avenue Northwest will remain at 40 km/h.
Furthermore, near Crescent Park, the 40 km/h limit on Fairford Street East will remain from First to Third Avenue Northeast, although the city will install extra pedestrian crosswalk signs and paint lines around the park’s perimeter, the engineering services manager said.
Also, the 40 km/h signs on Grace Street near 13th Avenue Northwest will remain, although the city will install two RRFB crossings on Grace Street, while on 13th Avenue Northwest, it will add an RRFB crossing and remove the 40 km/h speed limit, Erickson added.
Coun. Patrick Boyle pointed out that school zones are 30 km/h while some parks will be 50 km/h. He wondered how he could explain that discrepancy to residents who asked him about it.
City hall will convert the “majority of playgrounds” to 30 km/h zones, although some “anomalies” exist where that’s not the case, Erickson replied. Furthermore, while keeping traffic moving is important, children use school zones almost daily, so it was imperative to reduce the speeds in those areas. The city also wants to maintain safe areas around playgrounds with structures.
Coun. Dawn Luhning was pleased with these changes, while she thought the community would be happy too. Moreover, she was excited to see some consistency with signs on 13th Avenue Northwest where the playground area and school zone are.
Coun. Heather Eby agreed with enhancing the consistency of signs, while she noted that even though some residents might resist these changes, the adjustments “make complete sense.”
Council then voted to receive and file the report.
The next executive committee meeting is Monday, May 12.
