{"id":45165,"date":"2018-10-14T15:05:47","date_gmt":"2018-10-14T21:05:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/?p=45165"},"modified":"2018-10-14T15:05:47","modified_gmt":"2018-10-14T21:05:47","slug":"sait-students-want-to-keep-rolling-on-city-streets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/2018\/10\/14\/sait-students-want-to-keep-rolling-on-city-streets\/","title":{"rendered":"SAIT students want to keep rolling on city streets"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Crossing paths: <\/strong>A crosswalk intersects a busy residential road in Calgary on Monday, Sept. 24, 2018. City council decided on Monday, Sept. 20, 2018 to reduce speeds on some residential streets, but ordered a study of the options. (Photo by Larissa Morrow\/The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

C<\/span>algary drivers are going to have to slow down on residential streets, but has left open the question of what the new speed limit will be.<\/p>\n

A<\/span>s far as SAIT students are concerned, a new limit 30 km\/h is too slow.<\/p>\n

City council voted Sept. 20 to lower the speed limit on residential streets from 50 km\/h to 40, or 30 km\/h.<\/p>\n

But the final decision on the new speed limit won’t be made until city administration has studied the issue, and reported back to council, likely next year.<\/p>\n

The change was made, because it would increase a pedestrian\u2019s chance of survival if hit by a vehicle.<\/p>\n

According to Statistics Canada<\/a>, the average Calgary commute includes travelling less than one kilometre through residential areas, adding less than one minute to the typical commute if the change is made.<\/p>\n

Eight SAIT students interviewed prior to the council vote were cool to the idea of the speed limit reduction.<\/p>\n

Business administration student Erica Anderson said a cut to 30 km\/h would be \u201cquite a big drop.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said the reduction might be for the worst, because 30 km\/h is the same limit as in school zones in Calgary, where some drivers already tend to speed.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople will think of it [school zones] as the same speed limit as residential areas and really won\u2019t take it seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n

Currently, Anderson\u2019s commute in the morning takes almost an hour, and the speed reduction would lengthen her drive even more.<\/p>\n

\u201cI agree that 50 km\/h is a little too high, but 30 km\/h is too slow for all residential areas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rahul Shoor and Larry Novak, also students from the business administration program, said they think the money that would be put towards the change could be used more effectively elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey should keep it 50 km\/h, but enforce it more,” said Novak.<\/p>\n

“Even if it\u2019s 30 km\/h, people will still go 50 km\/h,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Shoor, who commutes to SAIT by public transportation and walking, said that pedestrian safety depends on the driver as much as the pedestrian.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlways look both ways. Calgary drivers go 10-20 km\/h over the limit.\u201d<\/p>\n

They suggested that the focus could be shifted towards better crosswalks throughout the city by making them brighter, better signed and more clearly painted on the road.<\/p>\n

According to Stefan Veletic, a power engineering student, the change would only make a difference to pedestrian safety if the limits were heavily enforced.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen money\u2019s involved, people listen,\u201d Veletic said.<\/p>\n

He suggested the city of Calgary use tools such as speed cameras to really make an impact on residential speeding, regardless of whether the limit is 50 km\/h or 30 km\/h.<\/p>\n

Veletic said he didn’t care whether the limit is changed, however, as he believes there are more important issues for the council to focus on, such as pipelines and oil accords.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re in a hurry, you\u2019ll drive what you want. But if you can\u2019t drive your car, it doesn\u2019t matter what speed you go.\u201d<\/p>\n

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It’s a sign: <\/strong>A playground zone speed limit sign in Calgary on Monday, Sept. 24, 2018. A motion to reduce the speed limit residential streets to 30 km\/h was approved by city council on Monday, Sept. 20, 2018. The amount of the reduction is still to be determined. (Photo by Larissa Morrow\/The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As City Council proposes to reduce residential speed limits across Calgary, SAIT students question whether 30 km\/h is too slow. [ READ MORE ]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":520,"featured_media":45176,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_ef_editorial_meta_text_assignment-slug":"S1 Stop your speeding","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,711,2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-45165","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-city","8":"category-featured","9":"category-campus-2"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45165","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/520"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45165"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45165\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45932,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45165\/revisions\/45932"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}