A group of Toronto councillors is suggesting the city lower speed limits on residential roads from 40 km/h to 30 km/h.
The proposal, which will be presented next week in front of the Toronto and East York Community Council, recommends the speed limit be lowered from 40 km/h to 30 km/h.
The move would affect 387.1 kilometres of roadway, and cost the city approximately $1 million, according to Transportation Services General Manager Stephen Buckley, who authored the report.
The proposal was first introduced by Coun. Josh Matlow, who suggested lowering the speed limit in residential areas in August 2014 after a 7-year-old girl was fatally struck by a vehicle in Leaside. At the time, Matlow pointed to a 2012 report from Toronto Public Health that suggested pedestrians are eight times more likely to die as a result of a collision when a vehicle is going 50 km/h than when it is going 30 km/h.
The report said fewer than 5 per cent of pedestrians are likely to die as a result of a collision at speeds below 30 km/h.
However, Buckley said it is unclear whether a reduced speed limit is the best decision for the areas affected.
"For speed limits to be effective, they should be compatible with the design of the road along with due consideration to other road environment factors," Buckley wrote.
"This could lead to motorist frustration, non-compliance and a disregard for the posted speed limit."
Buckley also wrote that travel times would increase, signal light timing would have to be adjusted and police may not be able to manage the increased demand for enforcement.
The motion before Toronto and East York Community Council (TEYCC) would see speed limits reduced in Wards 14, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31 and 32, in an area spanning from High Park to the Danforth.
The TEYCC will hear from residents of the area at the June 22 meeting, but may delay a decision until the council's meeting in July.
If the move is approved by the community council, the money required to implement lower speed limits would have to be approved by the full city council when it sets the 2016 budget.
