Latest news with #MontérégiePublicHealth
CBC
28-05-2025
- General
- CBC
Longueuil to lower speed limit on all residential streets, take new approach to safety
The city of Longueuil, on Montreal's South Shore, is reducing the speed limit on all residential streets to 30 km/h starting in January of next year. It is also putting in place new traffic calming measures across the city. The changes are part of an overall effort to get drivers to slow down, city officials said Tuesday. "This is where people go for a walk, go for a picnic, hang out with their neighbours. Kids play in the street. So we want to make people safer," said Jonathan Tabarah, a Longueuil city councillor. From now on, instead of responding to individual citizen requests for traffic-calming measures, the Longueuil administration will adopt a sector-based approach. The city found that in certain neighbourhoods, particularly those that are socio-economically disadvantaged, residents were making fewer requests to improve local safety. That's why a more systemic approach to neighbourhood safety is needed, said Longueuil Mayor Catherine Fournier. "We're shifting from a reactive model to a science-based method guided by recommendations from our teams," she said. The city cited research that found pedestrians struck by a vehicle have a 90 per cent survival rate when the vehicle is travelling at 30 km/h or less. If the vehicle is going 50 km/h, that survival rate drops to 25 per cent, said Gabrielle Manseau, a senior advisor with Montérégie public health. If the vehicle is an SUV or the pedestrian already has physical limitations, their chances of survival are even lower, he said. Sector by sector approach For this initiative, Longueuil has been divided into 15 neighbourhoods, which will be reviewed one by one to reassess safety infrastructure. Those include speed humps, speed radar signs, new traffic signs, road markings to narrow lanes, added pedestrian crossings and, in the longer term, raised intersections and permanent curb extensions. The first sector to be analyzed is Maricourt–Castle Gardens in Saint-Hubert, as it is representative — due to its school zones and types of streets — of what exists in other parts of Longueuil, the city said. Notre-Dame-de-Grâce–Saint-Vincent-de-Paul in Vieux-Longueuil will be reviewed next. Over time, the Fournier administration plans to expand its teams so it can accelerate the pace of the safety rollout. A third measure announced Tuesday is the construction of around 100 permanent speed humps every year, starting next year. Fournier believes this more systemic approach to neighbourhood safety will lead to gains in both efficiency and cost savings, though she acknowledged it's hard to quantify. She said the city will still respond to citizen concerns and to urgent situations, like those near schools. But this new system will help the city address issues in a timely manner, rather than trying to respond to concerns one at a time. When her team took office at city hall in 2021, she said there was a backlog of about 600 citizen requests.
CTV News
27-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
Longueuil reducing speed limit to 30 km/h in local streets
As of 2026, motorists won't be able to drive faster than 30 kilometres per hour in Longueuil's local streets. The city on Montreal's South Shore announced the speed reduction Tuesday as part of a series of traffic calming measures to improve safety. Longueuil Mayor Catherine Fournier said lowering the speed limit helps to significantly reduce serious injuries. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends 30 km/h limits where traffic mixes with vulnerable road users. 'It's a practical, tried and tested and internationally recognized way of protecting the most vulnerable, especially children, the elderly and people on foot or by bike,' Fournier said. The change will be submitted to the city council for formal adoption. Other changes will be on a case-by-case basis depending on the district. These include new panels and signs, road markings and other measures to make intersections safer. School zones will also be revamped with speed radars, cycling links and improved signage. The city says it also plans to install over 100 new speed bumps throughout its territory by 2026 to ensure drivers respect the new speed limits. 'Reducing speed and traffic not only reduces collisions and injuries, it also reduces stress, noise and exposure to poor air quality,' said Gabrielle Manseau with Montérégie Public Health in a news release. 'These calmer, safer environments encourage walking and cycling, which promote a more active lifestyle, reduce the risk of chronic disease and improve mental health. By creating streets that are more user-friendly and accessible, we reinforce the feeling of safety, social cohesion and inclusion.'
