Image: File / M. Vanden Bosch / Vedder Road and South Sumas Road in Chilliwack.

By Fraser Valley Today Staff

Traffic Calming

Chilliwack council to consider reinstatement of road safety policy

May 5, 2024 | 6:00 AM

CHILLIWACK — Chilliwack City Council will consider bringing a long-standing traffic calming policy back to life at Tuesday’s regular council meeting. Traffic Calming is the use of primarily physical interventions to mitigate safety hazards along roads by modifying driver behaviour, while enhancing conditions for non-motorized street users.

The policy was written in 2000 to deal with road safety complaints in Chilliwack but had a moratorium placed on it just two years later. Although there was a discussion to revive the policy in 2004, the moratorium remains two decades later.

The staff report in the council agenda says once approved and put into action, the policy failed to meet its goals. Instead, it resulted in negative feedback from residents, slower emergency response times, risks associated with speed humps at higher speeds, and resource-intensive policy implementation.

The policy was intended to provide city officials with a variety of options to consider in response to road safety concerns raised by citizens. Among the measures included were speed bumps and traffic buttons. However it wasn’t long before it became apparent the options created other issues. As an example operators of emergency service vehicles found the speed bumps made it difficult for the vehicles to respond in a timely manner, creating a public safety concern.

In its report to council, city staff say they receive numerous traffic complaints every week. The report says over 50 complaints have been recorded between January 1 and April 24. City staff suggest they will be better able to respond to the complaints through a new Traffic Calming policy.

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City staff propose the new policy would include various measures to address safety concerns, such as road narrowing, roundabouts, and speed reader boards. Meantime options for speed bumps would be eliminated. It says the policy is intended to prioritize safety while considering factors like emergency service access and community feedback.

The proposal received unanimous support from the City’s Transportation Advisory Committee at its April 18 meeting.

The report recommends City Council approve the new policy to improve the city’s management of road safety concerns.