The group is calling for a 30 km/h speed limit on municipal streets in Quebec

A lobby group for pedestrians is calling on Quebec to lower the speed limit on municipal streets to 30 kilometers per hour across the province.

“30 kilometers per hour is an adequate speed to live together safely. “This is what the World Health Organization says is what we have to do to save lives,” said Sandrine Cabana-Degany, executive director of Pietons Quebec.

The proposal comes on the day a 49-year-old woman was hit by a car and suffered a broken arm in Rosemont. The speed on the street where he was hit is 50 kilometers per hour.

“We're seeing reports of people who are scared,” said Jason Savard, a spokesman for the NDG Pedestrian and Cyclist Association, a pedestrian safety group on board with the proposal by Pietons Quebec.

“We all know going over 30km/h can cause more serious injuries to pedestrians, so keeping it at 30 and under is much safer for everyone.”

Pedestrians Quebec says pedestrians are four times more likely to survive a collision at 30 kilometers per hour than at 50.

“We're talking about heavy, 1.5-ton body-on collisions. Yes, there can be some damage, and if you go faster, yes, it's proportional, even exponential. So it's especially important to reduce the speed limit,” Savard said.

While pedestrian groups say the sequence of speed limits would make it easier for drivers to respect them, Andre Durocher of CAA-Quebec calls the proposal “virtually nonexistent.”

“The impact on traffic, think about where everyone is leaving their house in the morning, they're not in the school zone, but they're leaving to go to work, they're slowing down, it's not going to be left behind. And in fact, there are concerns that it will cause more pollution,” he said.

CAA-Quebec said a one-size-fits-all approach should not be used and doubts there is a consensus for a maximum of 30 kilometers per hour in Quebec.

Savard said it was a security issue.

“We've seen a lot of close calls, we see injuries, we see reports, so it's not a good view or feeling of how things are going in the city,” he said.