Should We Have Lower Speed Limits?UncategorizedJune 30, 2017A recent survey of residents in Toronto showed that 81 per cent were willing to accept lower speed limits and reduced travel time in order to reduce the risk of traffic collisions. According to the poll conducted by Angus Reid Forum over five days in early June, they found that 80 per cent of respondents support a safe network of bike lanes across the city, and 69 per cent want to keep the Bloor St. bicycle lanes. In comparison, only 57 per cent of respondents in Etobicoke and 63 per cent in Scarborough said they wanted to keep the lanes. This is very indicative of the perceptions about usage of roads for residents of those areas. Typically there would be more people driving around in the suburbs than there would be in downtown or midtown Toronto, where cycling and public transit usage would be more common. But no matter which part of the city you are from, there is unanimity about the need to slow down in order to avoid having more traffic accidents. Some commentators in the media have opined that by lowering speed limits on residential streets by 10 km, so you would see normally 40 km/h roads reduced to 30 km, and 50 km/h roads reduced to 40 km. The idea was, somewhat cynically, that one would have a better chance of emerging only with injuries being hit by a vehicle going at 30 km than sustaining permanent (or even worse) results from a collision with a vehicle going at 40 km. As a whole, people on the road should slow down and drive at a calmer pace, in order to avoid getting into trouble. Source: The Toronto Star