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May 4, 2001 Almost 70 per cent of respondents in a recent MPI survey said that driving 70 km/h in a 50 km/h zone is not at all acceptable. And yet most Winnipeggers can tell horror stories about reckless high-speed drivers in their neighbourhoods. That is why Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) and the City of Winnipeg Public Works Department are launching a pilot program that will help community members educate drivers about how fast they're travelling. The SpeedWatch pilot program will loan speed reader boards for up to two weeks to individuals or community groups in North Kildonan who express concerns about traffic speeds in their residential neighbourhoods. The scope of the program is limited to 50 km/h speed zones. SpeedWatch has three main goals: to educate drivers on residential streets about their driving behaviour, to prompt speeders to change their behaviour and to address community traffic speeding complaints. The citizen groups will set up speed reader boards in areas of concern. Drivers passing the boards will see their actual speeds compared to the posted speed limit, giving them a visual cue to slow down. "Speed reader boards have been shown to slow traffic," said MPI Road Safety Issues Specialist Shauna Crognali. "People are sometimes so preoccupied with other concerns that they don't even think about their speed. Seeing it up there on a reader board encourages a bit of a reality check and often results in a lighter foot on the gas pedal." City Councillor Mark Lubosch, in whose Ward the program is being tested, says he encourages his constituents to get involved and educate their neighbours about speeding. "Our community has an opportunity and a responsibility to make the streets safer," he said. Both the City and MPI have loaned speed reader boards to community groups in the past. Now the two programs will combine under SpeedWatch. The pilot will run from May until October. Individuals or groups who are interested in getting involved are invited to call SpeedWatch Coordinator Shauna Crognali at 985-7199.
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