A local parents’ group wants New West to follow the lead of Burnaby and Vancouver and extend the speed zone hours of enforcement around local schools.
The New Westminster district parent advisory council has written to the city asking that school zone speed limits be in effect between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m., something that’s been happening in Burnaby since 2021.
“As the neighbouring municipality, who we share a border that has no less than six schools located within two blocks or less on either side of 10th Avenue, it makes clear logistical sense to maintain alignment here,” said DPAC chair Laura Kwong. “Or to go one step further, as the City of Vancouver did in 2020, when their council passed a bylaw for 24-hour school zone speed limits that are in effect every day of the year.”
Kwong, appearing before council at its Feb. 13 meeting, said school facilities include the brick and mortar buildings, playgrounds, fields and adjacent city park spaces. She pointed out that they’re used by many different community groups, organizations and individuals outside of the current school zone enforcement hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“Schools are community hubs and, as community hubs, policy that regulates their usage should encompass all users at all hours,” she said.
Kwong said transportation research clearly shows that reduced vehicle speed limits save lives and significantly reduce injuries resulting from vehicle collisions for everyone, whether they’re inside or outside a vehicle.
“This understanding was the primary reason for implementing school speed zones from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the first place,” she said. “By extending school speed zone enforcement hours to align with the times that school facilities and grounds are still in use by students, staff, families, community groups, extracurricular participants and the general public, you will be extending the student pedestrian protections provided by reduced vehicle speeds to all users.”
Kwong said extended speed zone enforcement hours around schools is consistent with the City of New Westminster’s vision of providing a walkable, livable city in which citizens feel safe. She said extended enforcement hours are warranted given the city’s growing population and the increasing number of people using school facilities as community spaces.
“We believe that the (education) ministry-prescribed 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. schools zone hours are the floor and not the ceiling when it comes to pedestrian safety policy,” she said
Kwong told council that DPAC fully supports a motion that’s been put forward by Coun. Tasha Henderson.
The Feb. 13 council agenda included a notice of motion from Henderson related to an extension of speed zone enforcement hours, which will be considered by council at its Feb. 27 meeting.
The motion is for council to direct that speed zone enforcement hours be extended and to direct staff to bring a report back to council on how to implement this change including a discussion on: the length of the extension (i.e. 24 hours or 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.); potential impacts to neighbourhoods, transit and traffic management; any budget implications; and other concerns.
“I've had a conversation, a quick conversation, with the director of engineering that this was something that was on their radar,” Henderson said.
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