London considers changes to school zone speeds [Video]

A proposal to reduce speed limits within school zones along major roads would fill a safety gap left by a council decision eight years ago.

On Tuesday, the Civic Works Committee (CWC) discussed a staff recommendation to drop speed limits by 10 km/h in 30 school zones located on arterial roads within London.

“Ongoing collision monitoring reinforces the need to improve pedestrian safety,” the staff report reads. “Research supports the effectiveness of lower speed limits in decreasing traffic incidents.”

The reduced speed limits would only be enacted during school hours, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday between Sept. 1 and June 30.

Most of the school zones would go down to 40 km/h, but faster sections of Highbury Avenue, Oxford West, and Wellington South would be reduced to 50 km/h and 60 km/h.

“There’s still, some very, very high numbers there. And is there anything we can do to bring that down or …