Weyburn’s city administration asked city council for direction on what changes they would like to see made to the city’s traffic bylaw with respect to speed limits.
There was no real consensus on speed limits, with some councillors voicing a reluctance to tinker with speed limits at all.
Mayor Marcel Roy kicked off the discussion by pointing out that Weyburn is the only city of the province’s 12 cities to have a 40-kilometre-an-hour speed limit for the community.
He also noted that even if the speed limit were 50 km/h, this doesn’t mean drivers would go at that speed, as often road conditions dictate a vehicle’s speed on a road.
“I feel like I’ve literally been around the block, wondering what problem we’re trying to solve?” Coun. Jeff Richards asked. “I get that people are incensed about going down to 30, especially on Sundays at 7:30 in the evening. I personally have a hard time changing the speed limits.”
Mayor Roy said he would like there to be a consistent speed limit for the city, noting the limit is 40, 50 or 60 at various spots in the city, plus 30 in the school zones.
“I do not feel safe in residential areas going 50. I feel it’s too fast. In the main arterial area it does make sense. … There are areas where it makes sense to be at 40,” said Coun. Brad Wheeler, who added his difficulty with school zones is he spends a lot of time looking down at his speedometer, which makes it more dangerous to go 30.
“I don’t think it’s really broken, so I don’t see any real advantage to change it,” added Coun. Mel Van Betuw. “We’ve been saying Weyburn is a great place to live, and a safe place to live. We want to promote Weyburn as a safe place to live and raise children.”
Louise Pascua, representing the youth council at the Weyburn Comp, said most students are okay with the school zone speeds, but feel it would be better to have a time restriction on when the speed is set at 30 km/h. She also noted that the Comp has junior high students and a day care, so those are considerations as well for keeping a school zone.
Coun. Winston Bailey said he is maintaining his opposition to changing the speed limit at all.
“I would never support a 50 km/h zone in the city. Really, what are we trying to do here? Most of the people who come here from places like Stoughton and Fillmore are towns that are at 40. What do we have to be faster for?” he asked.
“You can’t please everybody,” said Coun. Dick Michel, who noted if the speed limits save a life, then it’s worth it.
He also noted one resident who moved to Weyburn about four years ago asked him. “You must have more important things to talk about, and I think he’s right.”
In other business, council voted 3-3 on a request from Jerry Mainil Ltd. to provide a better rate for disposing of demolition materials in the landfill, as the contractor is in the midst of demolishing the former Weyburn Inn for their customer, Barber Motors.
This vote means that a motion to give Mainil’s the 2017 rate for disposal in the landfill was lost. Mainil had requested a cost based on 94 cents per square foot, rather than the current rate based on tonnage, as the contractor expressed concern over how high those rates are.
With an estimate of costs between $80,000 and $140,000, before this year’s steep rate increase, “the mention of these kinds of costs have caused great concern with disposal and has had this project on hold for a period,” council was told in a memo from Darcy McCormick of Jerry Mainil Ltd.
A couple of councillors said they would be okay with giving Mainil the 2017 rate, noting that the Fire Department held several practices in the building, including the Fall Fire School last September.
Mayor Roy acknowledged there should be a price attached to that, but when the proposal went to a vote, it was lost on the tie vote.
Some councillors refused to give any break at all to Mainil, including Coun. Van Betuw. “The 2018 rates are the 2018 rates. I don’t like being that hard-nosed,” he said, noting large demolition projects like this are a detriment to the city’s landfill because of the volume of waste they generate. Noting the junior high may be demolished later, he said the costs shouldn’t be passed on to the taxpayers for these large projects.
