Flashing speed readers help remind motorists to slow down in school zones.
(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)
October 11, 2013 - 3:50 PM
KAMLOOPS – The city thinks it's time to take another look at school zone signs — where they're posted and how they're displayed.
Council agreed to ask for an advisory committee to look at options and determine if changes to the existing program are needed.
Speed readers have been used for awhile in Kamloops. They are rotated between 15 or 16 schools in the fall and spring, spending a week at each location to help remind motorists they are entering a school zone. The signs, placed on either side of a school zone, flash your speed if you are going too fast.
They proved effective while in place near South Sa-Hali Elementary this week. Many people quickly slowed down as they approached, the flashing a quick reminder students are nearby and vehicles need to go slower.
The temporary placement works well within some of the concerns councillors expressed. Coun. Tina Lange said if things are permanent people tend to stop seeing them. Lange brought up the subject at a meeting earlier this month, noting Saskatoon has a 'silhouettes for safety' program where a sign is placed in the middle of the road during school hours.
Engineering Services Director Marvin Kwiatkowski said the Traffic Advisory Committee has looked at those types of signs and they don't actually meet pedestrian regulations in B.C. because of that the committee is looking at more permanent solutions.
“Anything we can do is good,” Coun. Pat Wallace, a fan of the flashing speed signs, said. “It's disgusting how fast people go.”
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News from © iNFOnews, 2013