Stratford will not be lowering residential speed limits city-wide

The City of Stratford is pumping the brakes on a plan to drop speed limits on residential streets. CTV’s Jeff Pickel finds out why.

Stratford City Council has decided not to implement a city-wide reduction in residential speed limits, but change could still be coming down the road.

Earlier this week, councillors considered a proposal to lower speed limits from 50 km/h to 40 km/h, a move that has already been made in neighbouring cities, such as Kitchener.

“There’s definitely support from staff. There’s support from the police. There’s support from community groups,” Councillor Larry McCabe said.

But, despite the support, budgetary pressures put the brakes on a city-wide change.

Instead, councillors opted for another path.

“Bring back a report with ways that we could do a pilot project in the sector of the city that is experiencing some difficulties with traffic,” McCabe suggested.

That decision did not sit well with some residents.

“I’m a perennially positive person, so I’m not going to lie, I woke up a little disappointed this morning thinking, ‘Oh, finally we brought [the proposal] over the line,’” explained Kate Mulrooney.

She acknowledged that municipalities face uncertainty with the future of traffic calming measures, with Ontario Premier Doug Ford recently announcing plans to ban Automatic Speed Camera Enforcement across the province.

For now, city staff are exploring the pilot project option. They will bring their findings back to council at a later, undetermined, date.