Speed limit setting
Authority for setting speed limits on Winnipeg streets recently transferred to the City from the former Highway Traffic Board of Manitoba as part of Bill 14: The Traffic and Transportation Modernization Act (TTMA).
With the TTMA's passing, the City can set speed limits and also change the default speed limit of 50 km/h (30 km/h in back lanes) within the following parameters:
- Speed limits must be fixed in increments of 10 km/h.
- Speed limits cannot be less than 20 km/h.
- Speed limits set at less than 50 km/h must be signed at the point where the speed limit begins and after each intersection with a roadway other than a back lane, as close as practicable to that intersection.
The City is currently developing a process to field speed limit change requests, but has not changed the criteria by which it will recommend for or against a speed limit change:
- When a speed limit change on a City street has been requested or a newly constructed street requires its speed limit to be set, the Public Works Department conducts a speed study and other traffic analysis provides an evaluation and accompanying recommendation to the Standing Policy Committee on Infrastructure Renewal and Public Works.
- Recommended speed limits are based on the measured 85th percentile speed of traffic on the street (the speed at or below which 85% of motorists operate their vehicle, provided that the collision rate is within acceptable limits).
Residents can continue to contact 311 with any concerns regarding speed, and can also initiate a review request through their City Councillor.
Last update:
January 30, 2019