Calgary councilor supports discussion of doubling speeding fines in school zone

Speeding at school and on playgrounds is a common annoyance for Calgarians, and a Calgary city councilor is hoping to put the brakes on it by doubling fines.

3rd district. Jasmin Mian added an urgent work item to the agenda of the city's Executive Committee on Tuesday. He asked the City of Calgary to provide a technical review of a traffic notice that could sponsor a discussion at the Conference of Alberta Municipalities (AB Munis) in September to advocate for changes to the Alberta Traffic Safety Act.

Number. Mian said Alberta has lagged behind other provinces such as British Columbia, Quebec, Ontario and Nova Scotia in making these changes. Speeding fines in Alberta currently apply to all zones except those occupied by workers or first responders. There the fines are doubled.

“We're one of the only provinces that hasn't doubled them yet for school zones or playgrounds,” Mian said.

“I think it's interesting and I'd like to talk to other municipalities to see if they think it's something we should take a little bit further.”

This matter was placed on the agenda as an urgent matter, as he had to go to the Duchess's village as a second staff member before being sent to AB Muniz. Mian said speeding in school zones, big or small, is a problem across the province.

“It's a huge concern across the province, school zone safety for anyone who's been a city councilor,” Mian said.

“We regularly hear from residents about problems with speeding and other dangerous behaviour.”

According to Mian, the increase in fines should be significant enough for people to start changing their behavior. While it doesn't slow people down to 30, any speed reduction helps, he said.

“I think the biggest factor when it comes to speed is that even when people slow down a little, it can have a huge impact on the severity of the injuries that people get.

Councilors moved it to a full council meeting after a technical review.