Close calls at crosswalks has the City of Armstrong looking at solutions.
The result could be city-wide 40-km/h speed zones, and school speed limits extended to 365 days a year.
The issue came to light in late January when a young student’s backpack was clipped by a vehicle while he was walking along the crosswalk near Armstrong Elementary School. In early March, a resident reported another near-miss between a vehicle and a boy crossing Becker Street on the way to school.
“This is serious,” Mayor Chris Pieper said at the time, adding the city had received more than one request for a four-way stop at Becker and Rosedale.
READ MORE: Witnesses sought by police after boy clipped in Armstrong crosswalk
In February, council asked staff to look into the costs of making 30 km/h school zone limits applicable year-round, rather than just during the school year, as well as making the entire city a 40-km/h speed zone.
The cost of lowering all city speed limits to 40 km is estimated at $8,100, with 18 signs that would need to be replaced and about 18 more recommended for installation. Expanding school zone limits would cost about $3,300 per location.
However, the city can’t simply lower speed limits under the Motor Vehicle Act. And the report also noted that reducing speed in one zone could force more traffic elsewhere, or increase speeds and driver conflict on other routes.
The city says it must study future development and traffic volumes.
“All of these issues can be mitigated through selective traffic calming,” the report states.
A traffic detection and speed display unit has been acquired ahead of schedule and will be installed in the Armstrong Elementary school zone until the end of the school year.
The traffic calming report will be presented to council Monday, March 22.
READ MORE: ‘This is serious’: Armstrong mayor on near-misses in crosswalks
