Neighbourhood Speed Limit Reduction Road Safety

Neighbourhood speed limit reductions are part of the municipality’s ongoing initiatives to improve road safety.

The Province of Nova Scotia legislates speed limits on public roadways via the Nova Scotia Motor Vehicle Act (MVA). Currently the MVA prescribes a default speed limit of 50 km/h. However, the province will consider speed limit reduction submissions from the Local Traffic Authority on a neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood basis where streets have similar characteristics and a representative sample of streets are shown to meet the criteria listed below:

The functional classification of the street must be local.
The current speed limit on the street must be 50 km/h.
A speed study must be completed confirming the 85th percentile speed is close to 40 km/h or plans for physical changes that will limit speeds close to 40 km/h. The 85th percentile speed defines the speed that 85 percent of drivers will drive at or below under normal conditions.
Recommended speed limit of 40 km/h as provided by Canadian Guidelines for Establishing Residential Speed Limits.
Recommendation for the 40 km/h speed limit must be in writing from the Local Traffic Authority.

Staff are reviewing and analyzing neighbourhood data to support applications for reduced speed limits to the Provincial Traffic Authority.

The following streets are complete or pending completion. Click on the community name to view a map of the 40 km/h zone.

COMMUNITY NAME DISTRICT YEAR INSTALLED

Lake Charles 1 2021

Erindale Estates 3 2022

Heritage Hills 3 2022

Russell Lake West 3 2020

Dartmouth 5 2022

Harbourview 5 2022

Locks Rd/Shubie Park 6 2020

Crystal Heights 6 2020

Belmont on the Arm 7 2021