Tickets handed out in Winnipeg school zones starting Tuesday
CBC News | Posted: September 1, 2015 12:37 PM | Last Updated: September 1, 2015
Winnipeg School Division chairperson wants seasonal speed restrictions in place year-round
Reduced school zone speed limits come back in to effect Tuesday, and one Winnipeg man calls it a money grab after being ticketed $300.
The 30 km/h reduced speed limits have been lifted since June when classes ended for the summer. Despite the fact that classes don't start up again until next week, police are on the streets Tuesday trying to nab speeders in several of the city's 171 school zones.
"I wasn't going that fast. I was only going 45 [km/h] in a 30 [km/h] zone. I usually stick to the speed limit," Moises Machado told CBC News after receiving his $300 ticket.
Machado said bigger and better signs could go a long way in helping drivers remember that the lower speeds are being enforced again — and to protect the kids the speed limit is meant to safeguard in the first place.
Machado said he believed that he was travelling under the posted speed at the time he was pulled over.
"Until we get caught, that's when we start to slow down but at this point, I just think it's more of a money grab than anything else," Machado said.
Year-round enforcement
A representative with the Winnipeg School Division (WSD) said he wishes the restriction was enforced year-round.
Mark Wasyliw, chairperson with the WSD, said the seasonal speed law is "confusing for people."
"Unless you live in the neighbourhood, and you're aware of it and you're conscious of it, you're going to get caught and it's going to act unfairly and people are going to get huge tickets," said Wasyliw, adding families who use schools for sports and other activities are also affected.
"Why do they need to be driving faster than 30 km/h in a residential area to begin with — what's the rush? What we're asking people to do is to reduce their speed by 20 kilometres in an area where there's lots of people."
Other communities, like Calgary, have school zone speed limits in place all year, said Wasyliw.
Lowered speed limits were implemented in Winnipeg in the fall of 2014. Since then, Wasyliw said he hasn't heard of a single crash in a school zone involving a child.
After the first 30 minutes on Dalhousie Drive in Fort Richmond Tuesday morning, police had issued 30 warnings to drivers, but no tickets.
The 30 km/h speed limit is in place between 7 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. in most school zones across the city.