Councillors speak against raising speed limit on Northeast Swale road

Some Saskatoon city councillors say they aren't interested in raising the speed limit on the stretch of road cutting through the Northeast Swale. 

The comments come after other councillors recently passed on anecdotal remarks from drivers frustrated with the mix of speeds along the larger Chief Mistawasis Bridge road corridor.

The defence of the 50-kilometre speed limit through the swale also comes as the city confirms that after the bridge opened to traffic in October 2018, no wildlife-car collisions happened on the portion of the corridor going through the ecologically-sensitive swale. (Seventeen such collisions did take place elsewhere along the corridor, including 11 crashes with deer.) 

"I hear people sort of pooh-poohing the fact that there haven't been a lot of wildlife deaths," Ward 7 councillor Mairin Loewen said. "Well I think actually what we're aiming for is a low number of wildlife deaths and I'm not persuaded that we should be making changes based on the early low ridership."

• City report says fewer drivers using Chief Mistawasis Bridge than originally estimated

Loewen was referring to a recent report from the city that showed fewer than expected riders were using the new bridge. At a council meeting earlier this month, councillors Randy Donauer (Ward 5) and Bev Dubois (Ward 9) suggested that's because drivers dislike the mix of speed limits in the area.

The map below illustrates the various speeds. 

Drivers heading north on McOrmond drive must not go faster than 60 kilometres. Then, when cutting through the swale, that top speed must drop to 50 kilometres. 

Proceeding west of the swale, drivers are faced with a 60-kilometre limit, before being allowed to proceed as fast as 70 kilometres over the Chief Mistawasis Bridge.

• 'I throw up my hands as a driver': Councillors order review of speeds near Chief Mistawasis Bridge

"We've got three different speed limits in there and folks are complaining about that [and] finding that difficult," said Ward 9 councillor Bev Dubois.

Dubois called on the city to conduct a speed study of the corridor.

"I just wanted a study done to possibly look at increasing the speed limit," Dubois said Monday while explaining the intentions behind her recommendation, which she originally made earlier this month at a transportation committee meeting. "That's what I want to study for, is to look at infractions, to look at the deaths, and then we can analyze if that's even an option or not."

Some councillors signalled they're not into that.

"I have no intention of increasing speed limits," Ward 8 councillor Sarina Gersher said.

"Where the swale is concerned, I have no desire to see the speed increased," echoed Ward 6 councillor Cynthia Block.

When we choose to put infrastructure through spaces like that, it means we have to accept a certain level of inconvenience in order to protect those areas.- City councillor Mairin Loewen

Loewen said not enough is known about the causes of the lower-than-expected ridership to warrant interventions that could have negative ecological consequences.

"The reason that the speed limits are odd in this area is because of the swale and so in fact low wildlife deaths may be proof of the effectiveness of how to approach," Loewen said. 

"When we choose to put infrastructure through spaces like that, it means we have to accept a certain level of inconvenience in order to protect those areas."

Councillors voted in favour of having the city seek input from the Northeast Swale Working Group during its speed study. 

Councillors Loewen, Gersher and Hilary Gough (Ward 2) voted against Dubois' requested speed study.