Thursday, May 20, 2021

Severe Speeding Problem on 200th Street and 208th Street in Langley City. Why It Matters and What Can Be Done.

Langley City has speed reader boards installed throughout our community. These are the signs that flash when people speed along major corridors, school zones, and park zones.

Because speeding is an ongoing concern for residents in our community, City Council passed a motion for City staff to monitor and analyze traffic speeds in areas where we’ve received the highest amount of complaints.

The following map shows the locations where speed data was captured and analyzed.

Map of monitored speed reader board locations. Select map to enlarge.

The following table shows where speeding is an issue.

Number Location Speed Limit Average Speed 85th Percentile Speed Speeding an Issue?
1 Southbound 208 Street between Grade Crescent and 48 Avenue 50 49 63 Yes
2 Northbound 208 Street north of 45A Avenue 50 50 59 68 Yes
3 Northbound 200 Street between 53 Avenue and 50 Avenue 50 63 72 Yes
4 Southbound 200 Street between Fraser Highway and 56 Avenue 50 57 66 Yes
5 Eastbound 53 Avenue east of 200 Street 30 24 41 Yes
6 Westbound 53 Avenue west of 201A Street 30 35 48 Yes
7 Northbound 206 Street at Douglas Park 30 27 38 Marginally
8 Southbound 206 Street at 53A Avenue 30 30 39 Marginally

I’m sure the results come as no surprise. The next steps for the City are to:

  • Share this information with the RCMP to aid them in where to set speed traps
  • Find a long-term solution to reducing speeding in partnership with the RCMP
  • Work with the province to seek alternative methods to manage speeds such as in-place speed cameras similar to the red light/speed cameras at some intersections

In urban settings, speeding resulting in a significant increase in fatalities and major injuries. The following table shows that once speed increased past 30km/h, the risk of death increase exponentially.

The fatality rate of pedestrians in crashes with passenger cars as function of the collision speed. Select table to enlarge. Source: The relation between speed and crashes

On 200th Street, people are going 22km/h over the speed limit. This speeding increases the risk of death from 15% to around 50% if someone is driving hits someone walking with their motor vehicle.

Lowering speed increases road safety and saves lives. This is why reducing speeds in our community is something that I will continue to advocate for strongly.

2 comments:

Kevin said...

Hello Nathan ,if reducing speeds is something that you advocate for strongly why don't you pick a route that actually needs reducing. You've listed streets in your document that don't even have crosswalks or driveways. But 48th Ave that passes city park and is zoned for 30km has vehicles traveling 20km or more over posted speedlight. In fact I've witnessed cars launching off the speedbumps that were placed like Bo and Luke Duke in the dukes of Hazard. This may be a funny comment but I don't find it comical at all as my family frequentsthat park and area daily. If you want to enforce speed than I would suggest areas that hold the most value like schools and parks and leave the causeway alone.

Nathan Pachal said...

Thank you for the comment. 200th and 208th do have crosswalks and driveways on them in Langley City. It is concerning what you have mentioned about 48th Avenue, and enforcing speed around schools and parks is important.