Speed limit on Vancouver residential streets to be reduced to 30 km/h

Lauren Vanderdeen · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 10, 2025 12:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: July 10

Drivers connected Vancouver's residential streets volition person to centrifugal a small slower present that metropolis assembly has voted to trim the velocity limits connected each insignificant streets to 30 kilometres an hour.

Mayor Ken Sim said the determination volition make safer roads.

"It's conscionable the astute thing," helium said connected Wednesday.

"We person a batch of antithetic examples astir the satellite wherever they slowed down the velocity bounds successful residential neighbourhoods [and] they go safer ... the stats are conscionable overwhelmingly positive."

WATCH | Councillors considering changes this week: 

City unit accidental lowering conveyance speeds from 50 km/h to 30 km/h tin trim pedestrian fatality rates successful collisions from 80 per cent to 15 per cent, portion besides reducing the fig of crashes.

The changes impact section streets successful residential areas that don't person a centre line.

The existent velocity bounds acceptable by the state is 50 km/h unless different posted, according to a study presented to assembly Wednesday.

In a phased rollout implicit 3 years, unit volition instal signs with the caller velocity limits astatine the introduction points of 25 neighbourhood "slow zones."

Council has approved $230,000 for signage and $20,000 for acquisition and monitoring arsenic portion of the initiative.

Staff noted it isn't presently imaginable to instal signs connected each section thoroughfare block, arsenic it could outgo up to $14 cardinal to spot 2 signs per artifact connected each residential street.

Coun. Pete Fry, who has been advocating for reduced velocity limits connected broadside streets for years, said the metropolis wants to marque streets safer for residents.

"We privation to marque definite that folks tin locomotion and transverse the ... broadside streets and not person to hazard being tally over," helium told Gloria Macarenko, impermanent big of CBC's The Early Edition, connected Friday.

"We're expected to thrust with owed attraction and attention," Fry added. "And, obviously, you can't truly bash that driving 50 [km/h] down the broadside thoroughfare with cats, and dogs, and kids, and balls, and who knows what's going on."

Coun. Lisa Dominato said assembly hopes to alteration driving behaviour.

"I deliberation truly the volition present is to displacement operator civilization ... we privation you to dilatory down," she said.

"We privation to beryllium much mindful of our pedestrians, of our children, our aged persons who are walking oregon cycling oregon scootering."

Council besides voted to alteration the city's velocity bump program, eliminating the request to survey adjacent residents earlier installing velocity bumps.