Lethbridge City Council has approved the harmonization of school and playground zones, meaning that starting in September 2023, all school and playground zone speeds will be 30 km/h year-round. (Photo: LNN)

By Justin Goulet

School and playground zones in Lethbridge to become one by September 2023

May 17, 2023 | 10:26 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Lethbridge City Council has approved a change to school and playground zones.

A unanimous vote at the Tuesday, May 16, 2023 council meeting will result in school and playground speed zones becoming one, creating a single speed reduction zone with uniform year-round timing.

The fabrication and installation of the new signage will occur from June to August for the current 28 school zones and 41 playground zones in the city. Full implementation will start in September to coincide with the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year.

The new 30 km/h zones will be effective from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day of the year.

The change will make Lethbridge consistent with other municipalities in Alberta with existing Harmonized School and Playground Zones. These communities include Coaldale, Calgary, Medicine Hat, Red Deer, and Edmonton.

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City councillor Belinda Crowson said, “Having a fixed end time will be easier for motorists to remember, as in-school days can vary and the current one hour after sunset varies with the season.”

She added, “We know the social and economic costs of traffic collisions to society are enormous, so having longer speed reduction in these zones will also increase safety by reducing severity of collisions.”

City Council approved the Transportation Safety Plan (TSP) on June 8, 2021. The TSP recommended the implementation of Harmonized School and Playground Zones. Council’s approval on Tuesday was based on a further recommendation from the May 4 Civic Works SPC Meeting.

Transportation Engineering Manager, Ahmed Ali said, “This project will implement one of the TSP recommendations to enhance road safety and support the primary objective of reducing traffic related deaths and major injuries to zero by 2040.”

“Excessive speeds are known be the primary cause of a significant proportion of collisions that result in serious injuries and fatalities, so this decision will promote the safety of all residents.”

Ali added, “Traffic calming is also an effective means of reducing negative impacts of traffic on the quality of life for Lethbridge residents in existing and future neighborhoods.”

Council received letters of support for harmonized zones from the Lethbridge Police Service, Lethbridge School Division, Holy Spirit Catholic School Division. The Chinook Hospital Trauma Centre and the Southwest Alberta Road Safety Society also provided support for the change.

The City of Lethbridge also hosted a Community Conversation event at the ENMAX Centre on January 18. Residents provided feedback about harmonized zones on-site as well as online. Officials note nearly 2,000 responses were collected through various engagement activities. Residential feedback is available to view in the ‘What We Heard’ report.

Currently, school zones have a 30 km/h speed limit during school days from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., while playground zones currently have a 30 km/h speed limit all days of the year from 8:30 a.m. until one hour after sunset.

The City of Lethbridge noted that the total implementation cost of about $65,000 will be sourced from unspent funds from item C-16 in the 2018-2027 Capital Improvement Program (CIP).

READ MORE: City of Lethbridge potentially changing school zones to playground zones

READ MORE: School zones in Coaldale to be changed to year-round playground zones