A Steveston street close to Diefenbaker Elementary could have some traffic calming measures put in place by September.
The suite of proposed traffic calming measures along Fundy Drive includes three crosswalks and a reduced speed limit, with an estimated cost of $51,800, according to a city staff report.
Residents of Fundy Drive – near No. 1 Road and Steveston Highway – were concerned about pedestrian safety and speeding drivers, and they sent a petition to the City of Richmond asking for traffic calming measures to be put in place.
A portion of Fundy Drive also runs along the park grounds for Diefenbaker Elementary.
The traffic calming plan includes reducing the speed limit from 50 km/h to 30 km/h between dawn and dusk along the frontage of the park, installing three permanent speed humps and three pedestrian crosswalks.
The plan also includes installing traffic pavement markings at two crosswalks for the pathways that connect to Williams Road and No. 1 Road, and prohibiting on-street parking along the curved sections of Fundy Drive next to the park.
Currently, there’s a 50 km/h speed limit along Fundy Drive, apart from a curved section of the roadway where the speed limit is 30 km/h.
While a traffic speed study, conducted in response to the petition, found most motorists were driving below the 50 km/h speed limit – average speeds for northbound traffic were found to be 33 km/h and southbound, 36 km/h – residents were still concerned about safety in the area.
“This is primarily due to residents perceiving the posted speed limit as being too high for Fundy Drive, particularly when elementary school students are crossing the streets,” the report reads.
Staff also looked at three locations where residents asked for crosswalks and counted 12 to 30 pedestrians during the afternoon period.
The city conducted a survey on the measures and received 88 responses out of 153. Of those, 90 per cent were in favour of the changes.
Diefenbaker Elementary has not raised any concerns with the proposed measures.
Costs for the traffic calming measures can be funded through the 2021 Traffic Calming Program and the city aims to have the work “substantially completed” before the start of school in September.
