City of Kitchener sees drop in average speed of drivers

Drivers in the City of Kitchener seem to be getting the message when it comes to slowing down.

An update provided to the Community and Infrastructure Services Committee Meeting on Monday shows drivers on residential roads are slowing down on average by 15 per cent, or 8.2km/h.

The city said the data came before and after improvements were made in “hot spots” around the city in 2023, including reducing speeds to 40km/h, speed bumps and cushions, an all-way stop, and pedestrian crosswalks.

“Traffic and road safety is a priority for Kitchener Council who share in the goal that the only acceptable number of serious injuries and deaths on our roads is zero,” said Mayor Berry Vrbanovic in a press release.

“From 2022 through to 2024, there were no fatalities due to traffic collisions on roads that are within the City of Kitchener’s scope of responsibilities, and the continued implementation of our Vision Zero strategy is exactly how we’ll maintain and even further improve on this objective.” 

The update is part of the five-year Vision Zero Strategy, which is aimed at reducing collision-related deaths in the city. In 2023, 18 “hot spots” in the city were found, including six school zones.

Ward 8 Councillor and Chair of the Committee Margaret Johnston said one of the biggest concerns they hear is about is speed on residential roads.

“I’m happy to hear that the many improvements and policy changes put in place as part of our Vision Zero strategy are having a significant impact, and I’m encouraged to hear from staff that there is much more work to come,” said Johnston in a press release.

Next steps for the strategy include converting 16 roads into “complete streets” and working with the University of Waterloo to use Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology to detect near misses at intersections.