The City of Courtenay will be piloting a reduced speed limit in Crown Isle to improve other modes of transport.
The speed limit in the area will drop from 50 km/h to 40 km/h on Tuesday. The city says this will improve the comfort of those travelling on foot, by bike or with mobility aids.
The pilot project will run for about a year, according to the city. The area will include the Crown Isle neighbourhood south of Ryan Road and east of Lerwick Road.
Signage will be posted in the area alerting commuters to the reduced speed.
Courtenay mayor Bob Wells says the effort is being made as speed is a growing concern for the community’s residents.
“Excessive speed has been an ongoing concern expressed by the residents of Crown Isle over the last several years,” said Wells. “With the support of the neighbourhood, we’re launching this speed limit reduction pilot project in their area to see how effective speed limit reductions are in curbing this behaviour.”
Council directed staff to try the speed limit reduction project last September. They say baseline data on traffic speed and volumes have been collected, with additional data being gathered during the study.
Comox Valley RCMP are aware of the pilot project and have been monitoring speeds in Crown Isle, according to the city. They add monitoring will continue throughout the study.
Results will be reported back to council once the study has finished.
