Local residents are likely to soon find out whether speed limits for the 1100 and 1200 blocks of Fourth Street will remain at 50 kilometres per hour (km/h), or if they will be reduced to 30 km/h.
The issue is expected to be discussed at the Feb. 29 meeting of Estevan City Council.
Council gave first reading to a bylaw on the issue during their previous meeting on Feb. 8. Councillors Brian Johnson and Trevor Knibbs voted against the motion, citing the opposition they have received from the public on the issue.
Other council members have also received a lot of criticism on the speed limits.
Mayor Roy Ludwig said at the meeting on Feb. 8 that the public’s reaction would ultimately guide council’s decision on whether to proceed with the speed limit reduction.
A poll was set up on the city’s website and Facebook page. While the exact results were not immediately released, Ludwig noted the results from the Facebook poll indicated the public supports the status quo for Fourth Street.
The polls were closed on the morning of Feb. 22.
“At this point in time, it would appear that the majority of people that are emailing in are in favour of leaving it as it is,” the mayor told the Mercury.
He has also spoken with a lot of people in the community.
The majority of business owners and employees that Ludwig spoke to support the speed limit change. He has already talked to business people on the south side of Fourth Street, and he vowed to speak with those on the north side of the street before the next council meeting.
“I’ve definitely received different points of view,” Ludwig said.
The reduced speed limit proposal has the support of police Chief Paul Ladouceur, the downtown business improvement district, the city’s traffic control committee and the Estevan board of police commissioners.
“I believe it has merit to slow down the speed for those two blocks, but having said that, this will be up to the will of council as a whole,” said Ludwig.
He still supports the police chief’s position on Fourth Street, because Ludwig believes slower speed limits will give motorists more time to react on the busy two-block stretch that includes mid-block crossings and vehicles joining and leaving the flow of traffic.
Ludwig recognizes speed limits are a contentious issue, and it can be tough to predict how people will
react.
“In the past, any time we discuss speed limits, it tends to be a little bit of a controversial topic,” said Ludwig.
Council will have to give the bylaw second and third reading for the speed limit reduction to occur. If they don’t approve the bylaw, then the speed limit will remain the same.
If the bylaw is ratified, then the lower speed limits will proceed, although there would be a grace period to give motorists time to adjust.
