Saskatoon city council votes for 12-hour school zone
Global News
Saskatoon city councillors voted to extend 30 km/h school zones, so they take effect from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. despite surveys showing residents oppose the changes.
Changing speeds in school zones may have been as divisive in city chambers as it is outside of city hall.
It took Saskatoon’s city council four separate votes to finally move ahead with changing school zones, despite the fact changing the times the zones are in effect is extremely unpopular.
The council voted 6-5 to expand the 30 km/h zones, which are currently in effect from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m., to 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.
Council also voted to remove traffic zones for high schools on arterial roads.
Most secondary schools are on those busier streets, Mayor Charlie Clark told the council on Monday.
It fell to Clark, since the mayor votes last, to break the deadlock all four times.
The original report from the administration suggested changing the window to 7 a.m. until 9 p.m.
A motion from Ward 1’s Darren Hill proposed to retain the original time and move ahead with the rest of the proposals, which include improving safety for seniors without using speed zones and creating speed zones for playgrounds.