THE CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF PORT COQUITLAM

MEMORANDUM U U 1 G

. JAN 14 4882
TO: B. Kirk, January 6th,
City Administrator

1982

FROM: F.E. Peters,
City Engineer

SUBJECT: School Speed Zone at Mary Hill Senior Secondary School ~
‘Public Works Committee, January 5th, 1982

RECOMMENDATION:

That Council make the following changes to the school
speed zones around Mary Hill Senior Secondary School:

a) The speed zone on Pitt River Road be removed, and

b) ef} speed zone on Tyner be either removed or
extended to Central Avenue

BACKGROUND AND. COMMENTS:

I was contacted by the R.C.M.P. about the difficulty
of enforcing the school speed zone on Tyner Street adjacent to
the Mary Hill Senior Secondary School. The R.C.M.P. Claim that
this zone is too short to enforce properly and that it should be
extended for the full frontage of the school to be meaningful.

In looking at this request, I would like to draw
Council's attention to the proper use of school speed zones.
These are normally installed in front of elementary schools where
the possibility exists that children who are unaware of the
traffic flow will dash into the street. The assumption is that
a driver who is travelling very slowly will have time to react
to the impulsive child. There is normally no validity to a speed
zone even for elementary schools if the school ground is fenced
and if children are provided with a controlled crossing on the
street. Once children get to the high school age, they are
considered to be responsible enough to be able to integrate
their own movements with the traffic.

Tie speed zone on Pitt River Road appears to make no
sense whatsoever since the school ground is fenced and the
pedestrians have traffic signals by which they can cross Pitt
River Road. Being a major arterial street with a high volume of

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