Drivers in Niagara-on-the-Lake will need to start easing off the gas pedal on rural roads.
Council passed a bylaw Tuesday reducing speed limits on 34 road sections, most of which were previously set at 80 kilometres an hour.
Most of the new limits are 70 km/h, with a few sections dropping to 60 or 50 km/h. One exception is a longer portion of Line 3, which will stay at 70 km/h.
Some of the lower reductions sparked debate among councillors.
Coun. Sandra O’Connor objected to speed limits dropping as low as 50 or 60 km/h, saying the changes had not been discussed before coming to council.
“We haven’t discussed that,” O’Connor said. “I was quite surprised to see that 50 and 60 kilometres. That’s why I’m going to vote against this, because we had never discussed that lower limit.”
Operations director Darren MacKenzie said a part of Concession 6 must be 60 km/h because it connects to a regional road. He added that the 50 and 60 km/h limits are a correction of past mistakes in the town’s speed assessments.
“We’re not changing for the sake of changing,” MacKenzie said. “We’re correcting errors that should have been caught.”
Coun. Wendy Cheropita was also against the speed limit shift, citing an upcoming road survey that could prompt another round of changes.
“I can’t support this,” she said. “I want to make sure we have the right information.”
Coun. Erwin Wiens, who chaired the meeting, said the appropriate time to raise concerns was earlier in the meeting when council approved the minutes.
“If you vote against it now, you’re voting against what we approved at the start of the meeting,” he said.
The bylaw will take effect once the new signs are installed.
A full list of affected roads is available here.
