Norris pledges to increase speed limit on McOrmond Drive through Saskatoon's northeast swale

Saskatoon mayoral candidate Rob Norris says he wants to quickly increase speeds on a road where the Saskatoon Police Service issues an average of more than one speeding ticket a day.

It's also a road that city officials say has already reached its maximum design speed limit. In one section where Norris wants to increase the limit, officials have said it would be unsafe to do so. 

On Wednesday, Norris issued a news release stating he wants a consistent speed limit of 70 kilometres per hour over the area encompassing the Chief Mistawasis Bridge and the section of McOrmond Drive leading to Fedoruk Drive, on the city's northeast outskirts. 

City councillors have debated the speed limits there on more than one occasion. Most recently, last May, they voted to increase the speed in parts of the area to 60 kilometres an hour from 50. 

• Despite environmental concerns, Saskatoon City Council votes to hike speed limit through northeast swale

Norris said he commended those councillors for doing so, but that "countless" people he's spoken since still want a higher speed. 

"Especially in the east end of Saskatoon and from folks that work in Saskatoon's north end," he said. "People are still not happy with the speed limit on McOrmond."

Norris pledged to seek a special resolution "to get it done as soon as possible" should he be elected in the Nov. 9 municipal election.

The following image shows how Norris would like speeds on the corridor tweaked. The orange signs indicate his desired increase to 70 kilometres an hour from the current posted speeds of 60 kilometres an hour:

Ward 8 Coun. Sarina Gersher voted against the increases to 60 kilometres an hour last May.

"The speed limit has been increased at multiple points. And right now it's at the max that it can be," she said.

In a report to city councillors last May, city officials cited 60 kilometres an hour as the design speed for the two sections of McOrmond Drive where Norris wants to see speeds increased.

On one of those McOrmond Road sections — going east of Central Avenue to the ecologically-sensitive northeast swale — officials said it would be "unsafe to increase the posted speed limit and not feasible from an engineering perspective."

"I believe that Rob Norris is speaking from the very narrow perspective of those who want to drive fast with no regard for human life or wildlife," said Louise Jones, a member of the Northeast Swale Watchers group.

"To slow down briefly while crossing through a nature zone is very little to ask of drivers."

Few wildlife deaths, lots of speeding tickets

Some animals have been struck by drivers in the corridor, according to statistics from the city.

Wildlife deaths from collisions totalled 20 from Oct. 1, 2018 (shortly before the Chief Mistawasis Bridge opened) to Oct. 31, 2019. 

"We need to be monitoring wildlife activity and be ready to mitigate any risks associated with this adjusted, consistent speed limit," Norris said. 

Speeding along the corridor is much more prevalent, according to statistics provided Wednesday by the Saskatoon Police Service.

Between Oct. 2, 2018, and Aug. 31, 2020, officers issued a total of 867 tickets to drivers caught speeding along the corridor (from the bridge to the intersection of McOrmond Drive and Fedoruk Drive).

That averages out to 38 tickets per month, or more than one ticket a day.