Slower speed limits are coming to residential areas in Saanich.
This week, Saanich council passed a bylaw that reduces speeds in neighbourhoods to 30 km/h.
Mayor Dean Murdock says new speed limit signs will gradually roll-out, "once the sign is up, that is the new speed zone."
The mayor says the first areas to get the new signs will be in the Burnside/Gorge area, and near the Royal Jubilee Hospital in the area known as the Saanich panhandle.
Murdock points out a number of the neighbourhoods in question don't have sidewalks, making it even more dangerous for pedestrians sharing the road with vehicles.
In another major change, there will be a reduced limit of 40 km/h on Interurban Road.
"We know that people are traveling, in some cases, at very high speeds. So we're making some changes to reduce the speed again because we've had incidents where people have been seriously injured or we've even had a fatality in one case," says Murdock. "I acknowledge, and council acknowledges, that in some cases it's going to mean some frustration and inconvenience as people are going a little slower than they used to. But that's all contributing to a safer environment for everybody that's using our roads."
B.C.'s default speed limit is 50 km/h on residential and urban streets but local councils are able to set their own speed limits.
Listen to the full conversation with the mayor here: