Vancouver parents declare victory getting school speed zone reinstated — but will it last?

When mother-of-five Stacy Calogero found out the city removed the 30 km/h speed signs outside her kids' former Vancouver school she was, in her own words, livid. 
 
The reduced speed signs have long dotted the street outside Champlain Heights Annex for grades K-3, until they suddenly disappeared this summer. 
 
"That came as a big surprise, because I would have assumed that 30 kilometres [per hour] around any school, that's law. That should be there regardless," Calogero said.  
 
Sarah Rosen, chair of the school's parent advisory committee (PAC), said she at first thought the signs had been stolen. When she found out they were removed as per city policy, she said it was mind-boggling. 

She said the school is book-ended by two parks with 30 km/h zones. The change would mean the speed limit would increase to 50 km/h for a short stretch outside the school. 
 
"I don't understand any logic, city-planning wise, just safety-wise that there would be a reason to increase it to 50 just in front of a school," Rosen said.  

It turns out city workers removed the signs after someone complained vegetation was making them hard to see, according to an email the city sent to a parent.

When the city discovered the signs weren't supposed to be there at all due to a policy of not applying 30 km/h school zones to arterial streets, staff ordered them removed.
 
The two moms and a group of parents decided to rally and take the matter to city hall. The first response from the city was a clear no.
 
"The removal of the 30 km/h signs [was] approved by our engineering branch and will not be reinstated," the city wrote in an email to one of the parents. 

But their disappointment didn't last. Soon after CBC News and Coun. Lisa Dominato reached out to the city, a decision was made to reinstall the signs.

Dominato said she heard clearly from parents and the move was the right thing for staff to do.  

"We have the least protection as pedestrians when crossing the road or on the sidewalk and we need to take pedestrian safety incredibly seriously," she said. 

The city will also make sure the speed limit is in effect for 24 hours a day, as per a new city policy. 

Citywide policy under review

It's still not clear if this is the end of the parents' battle — or whether parents at other schools along collector or arterial streets designed for higher traffic volumes, larger vehicles and emergency response will also have to go to battle. 

City staff are reviewing the policy in consultation with ICBC, the Vancouver School Board and emergency services. They're expected to report back to council next spring. 

According to a transportation safety update published by the city in June, speed reductions along arterial routes aren't effective without tools such as speed humps, which cannot be implemented without impacting transit and other services,

The city has made exceptions to its policy on speed limits along arterials in the past when the public has voiced concern, including along a section of Hastings Street in the Downtown Eastside.

Dominato is hopeful the city will move in a direction that's more flexible, and allows for speed reductions like the one outside the Champlain Heights school. 
 
"My ultimate goal, and I think would be shared with the rest of council, is that kids are safe, parents are safe, our seniors are safe," Dominato said.  
 
For now, the parents are "cautiously optimistic," and proud of the results.  
 
"As a mom, [it] is really, really important for me to show the kids that if there's something that you don't agree with and you want to stand up for, someone's going to listen," Calogero said.