A reduced speed limit could be coming to University Avenue in Saint John in the very near future.
City staff recommends lowering the speed limit from 60 km/h to 50 km/h to support the active transportation project on the Millidgeville street.
A staff report presented to council on Monday said the change would “complement the road narrowing (physical traffic calming) plan with this project.”
The four-lane street in Millidgeville is being reduced to two vehicle lanes to allow for buffered and protected bike lanes.
Staff also recommend a no-stopping zone eastbound between Millidge Avenue and the start of the left-turn lane to Tim Hortons.
“With University Avenue reducing to a single through lane in each direction, it would be important to reduce risk of vehicles queuing into this now single through lane from the Tim Hortons drive-thru,” said the staff report.
Last fall, city staff increased the length of the left-turn lane to Tim Hortons by reducing the length of a centre median along University Avenue just east of Millidge Avenue in order to mitigate the risk of back-ups.
Council passed the first and second readings of the proposed traffic bylaw changes. They will consider the third and final reading at a later meeting.
According to the report, the project is on track to be completed this year, with “functional completion” planned by the end of June. Bollards for the protected bike lanes would be installed once they are delivered.
Changes proposed to alternate side parking
Council also approved the first and second readings of proposed changes to the alternate side parking program in the north, east and west areas of the city.
Vehicles currently park on one side of the street for the first half of each month, then the other side for the other half.
Up until recently, the program was only in effect during overnight hours in the winter and spring months, and parking alternated daily instead of semi-monthly.
Based on community input following the recent change, staff now recommend that the current iteration of the program only be in effect during the winter and spring months, from December through May.
“Beyond these months, provided no other parking restrictions are in place case-by-case, residents would be permitted to park on both sides of the select streets during the summer and fall months (June through November),” said a staff report to council.
The alternate side parking program would remain unchanged in the south-central peninsula area of the city.
