Zoned Out!

‘ZONED OUT’ or maybe ‘TWILIGHT ZONE’ (in reference to Ald. Mar’s comments).

On February 19, 2009 there was an article in the Calgary Herald regarding some possible changes to signage and regulations for playground zones and school zones. See the full article here.

We know that the current system is not effective at Haultain School. The reduced speed Playground Zone is not in effect until 8:30am, so all our children are walking across the street or exiting busses for our 8:20am start time while traffic, including city transit, whizzes by at 50km/hr. A ‘School Zone’ would not be ideal either, because it ends at 5pm and the playground in the field between the school and the Community Centre is well used by local children beyond that time. There just doesn’t seem to be a good fit with any of the current options.

Down the street, our teens attending Wilma Hansen Jr High start at 9am, but it is within a ‘School Zone’ where reduced speeds start at 8am. Also in our community, Queensland Downs Elementary had to pull their student patrollers a few years back as there were safety concerns with no speed reduction zones on Canyon Meadows Drive. The City installed a playground zone (effective 8:30am) and now the City gets regular complaints as commuters have to slow to 30km/hr during evening rush hour when there are no children present. Clearly, the current system is not meeting the needs of our communities.

“Ald. John Mar said one zone would be an "enforcement and education nightmare." "Imagine trying to implement something no one has ever seen before," he said. "I don't think (the system) is broken.””

There have been many new regulations and bylaws put into place recently that ‘no one has ever seen before’ - reducing speed to 60km when passing an emergency vehicle, for instance. You would think that would be a nightmare to enforce…something that can happen anytime and anywhere. Yet, he thinks we are not able to handle one effective, consistent, well-marked system for slow zones within Calgary.

This is exactly what our community has been requesting for several years now. Reduced speed zones have often been a topic of conversation at our Queensland Community Association board meetings.

On December 11, 2007 Alderman Linda Fox-Mellway attended one such meeting and invited Cam Nelson, City of Calgary Traffic Safety Coordinator. The Board was informed of a project in which 2 reduced speed zones in each ward across the city would be chosen as part of a study to determine how best to control traffic in areas such as schools, parks, sports field and green spaces where children walk and play.

Here is the relevant portion of the minutes from that meeting:

5.1 Linda Fox-Mellway, Alderman Cam Nelson (Traffic Safety Coordinator) was invited by Linda to speak In 2003, province started a project regarding the definition of school and playground zones. Due to quirks in provincial legislation, in rural areas the speed can be no lower than 40 and in urban areas can be no lower than 30. Edmonton doesn’t have school or playground zones and has areas instead with no speed reduction. The Transportation Association of Canada (TAC) has picked up where it left off. The reason for having a speed reduced area is where or when children are in the area. There will be 28 areas (2 per ward) which are going to be tested in a pilot. The new playground area signs will still be yellow. The area sign will be the same sign as the existing signs without the speed reduction. Cam provided paperwork suggesting two zones in Diamond Cove for the pilot program. This will include the soccer field and the tot lot in Diamond Cove. Communication can be assisted with the Queensland Crier. The zone hours are dictated by legislation, but school hours can be adjusted per the municipal government. 80 points is the magic number for weighting. In terms of the area, the number ranges from 41 to 80.
Motion was made to agree with the pilot suggestions for the revised playground zones and areas in Diamond Cove as proposed by Traffic Engineering.

This project was to be completed last year (April 2008 I believe). We have heard nothing since.

This is a complex issue to be sure, but the City Council needs to make an effort to work collaboratively and in good faith with School Boards, Parent Councils, and Community Associations to find the best solution.