The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
More than three years after being asked to lower the speed limit in school zones, Flin Flon city council now has the ability to do so if it so chooses. The NDP government on Monday proclaimed amendments to the Highway Traffic Act that give local governments the authority to set speed limits in school zones. 'All families want their children to be safe while crossing streets as they travel to and from school,' said Infrastructure and Transportation Minister Steve Ashton. 'The new regulations will permit local governments to establish lower speeds in school zones to ensure greater safety for children in their communities.' The amendments give local governments, such as municipalities, local government districts, First Nations and community councils, the power to: set maximum speeds as low as 30 km/h in school zones where the regularly posted speed is less than 80 km/h; set maximum speeds as low as 50 km/h in school zones where the regularly posted speed is 80 km/h or above; and designate specific dates and hours when reduced speed limits are in effect or set the limits to be in effect at all times. Reduced-speed school zones are limited to streets and highways that abut the school property and the designated zone must be within 150 metres of the boundary of that property. Any local government that wishes to reduce the speed limit in its school zones must pass a bylaw lists all schools that will have reduced-speed zones and indicate what roads and what portions will have the reduced speed. The bylaw must also describe the reduced maximum speed, and be clear about what hours the speed limit is in effect. The limit can also be in effect around the clock. 'These guidelines will allow local governments to determine the best course of action for their community,' Ashton said. 'No matter what the speed limit is, children are vulnerable on the road. Drivers have to take responsibility and slow down.' In July 2010, the Flin Flon school board asked city council to lower the speed limit near schools to below 50 km/h. The posted speed limit near Ecole McIsaac and Ruth Betts schools is 50 km/h. Near Hapnot Collegiate and Many Faces Education Centre, the limit is 30 km/h. In late April and early May of 2011, an MPI-sponsored radar program found that 24 per cent of all motorists in school zones were speeding. Reviewing the speeds at which a number of motorists were traveling, Trustee Glenn Smith called some of the numbers 'scary.' _ With files from a Government of Manitoba news release
