The City of Edmonton is introducing traffic safety upgrades near Highlands School
This school season, the city is trialing innovative traffic safety upgrades near Highlands School, which are focused on lowering speeds on arterial roads near schools at key times of day.
The upgrades aim to address traffic safety concerns, such as pedestrian safety and driver speeds that were raised by nearby residents and the school community.
A pilot project is underway along 118 Ave NW, an arterial road adjacent to the Highlands School.
The road was chosen because historically, arterial roadways are designed to carry higher volumes of traffic and arterial roads adjacent to schools are not designated as playground zones and, as a result, do not have reduced speed limits when school is in session the city said.
The upgrades aim to improve the safety of all road users walking, biking and rolling to and from the school.
Some of the improvements include:
- Rapid flashing beacons – Activate a 30 km/h speed limit zone when beacons are flashing, reducing the risk of crashes and pedestrian injuries.
- Dragon’s teeth pavement markings – Visually narrow the road to encourage slower driver speeds and notify drivers they are entering a school area.
- ‘School’ pavement markings – Notify drivers that they are approaching a school area.
- Refreshed crosswalk markings and safety posts around pedestrian signals – Encourage slower driver speeds on approach to the pedestrian crossing and improve the visibility of the crosswalk.
- Speed check signs – Visually indicate if a vehicle is travelling above the speed limit, encouraging safer driver speeds and compliance with the posted speed limit.
The city will continue to monitor traffic data in the area to determine if any adjustments are needed.
The results of this pilot will help inform how the city addresses traffic safety at schools, especially around schools located closer to arterial roads where designated playground zones are not available.
Residents can inform the city about any operational challenges or maintenance needs related to the installed measures by calling 311.
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