City council votes to change school zone times, apply them year-round

Saskatoon’s city council has voted to make changes to school zones and develop playground zones it says will improve safety for kids year-round.

The council voted unanimously Monday during its regular business meeting to revise the reduced speed school zone policy to align with guidelines put out by the Transportation Association of Canada (TAC).

The revisions will maintain a reduced speed limit of 30 kilometres per hour and see existing hours for school zones at elementary schools changed to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., to be in effect seven days a week and in all months of the year.

Reduced speed zones near high schools and school zones along arterial streets are to be removed.

City administration has been directed to develop a reduced-speed policy for playgrounds that would align with TAC guidance and include a reduced speed limit of 30 km/h.

Significant discussion took place among council members Monday to determine the new daily hours for the school zones.

Originally, the hours of 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. were recommended and defeated. Ward 1 Coun. Darren Hill proposed the hours be amended to 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to match the current school zone hours. This was defeated, as was Ward 3 Coun. David Kirton’s suggested amendment that the hours last from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

In his comments on the hours amendments, Hill said he felt it was important to balance the requests of city residents with the knowledge that children do not play at only certain times of the day or year.

Coun. Hilary Gough of Ward 2 said she has seen considerable interest in making “where kids play as safe as possible.”

Reduced speeds lessen fatalities in collisions involving pedestrians and vehicles, thus leading her to comment that slightly increased travel time would be a fair price for greater safety of children in the city around schools and playgrounds.

Gough’s proposal for hours from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for school zones passed by a 6-5 vote.

Mayor Charlie Clark was in favour of those hours, as he said he felt they would be easy to remember for commuters, supporting earlier comments made by Ward 6 Coun. Cynthia Block.

Bev Dubois, representing Ward 9, also supported those hours because she said they were clear and consistent.

Gough also put forward that following implementation, city administration “conduct a crossing safety review in each area where school zones will be removed from arterial roads near elementary schools” and that the resulting recommendation be prioritized alongside neighbourhood traffic reviews.

The recommendation passed unanimously.

Potential countermeasures like increasing pedestrian crossing times at signalized intersections, pedestrian devices, traffic calming, enhanced pavement markings and improved street lighting where the city deems appropriate are also going to be considered as a means of creating zones for seniors.

The council voted for all new changes to be made in 2022. The appropriate amendments will be made to the city’s traffic bylaw.