Slower Speeds on Local Streets
Slow Your Roll - Lowering Residential Neighbourhood Speed Limits to 30 km/h
To improve road safety and foster more active and livable neighbourhoods, the City is lowering the speed limit to 30 km/h on all local streets in nearly 50 neighbourhoods.
Local streets are typically in residential areas and do not have a centre line.
Council formally adopted Amendment Bylaw No. 10750 on June 8, 2026, establishing these 30 km/h speed limits.
Arterial roads and perimeter roads that carry higher volumes of traffic (such as Westminister Highway, Granville Avenue, River Road) will remain at 50 km/h.
Areas subject to the new 30 km/h speed limit are shaded purple in the map below.
Implementation
Sign fabrication and installation began in late June 2026 and will take approximately three months to complete, progressing from west to east across the city.
- 30 km/h speed limit signs will be installed at the entrances to residential neighbourhoods, where drivers turn from an arterial road onto local residential streets.
- These signs mark the beginning of the 30 km/h speed limit for the residential neighbourhood.
- Speed limit signs will not be installed on every residential block. Instead, the City is using an entrance-based approach, with signs placed at key neighbourhood entry points.
Once 30 km/h signs are installed in your neighbourhood, the new speed limit is in effect and enforceable.
Benefits
Slower speeds in residential areas support quieter, more livable neighbourhoods and enhance the environment for cyclists and pedestrians.
Research shows that lowering vehicle speeds from 50 km/h to 30 km/h can reduce:
- pedestrian fatality rates from 85 per cent to 10 per cent in the event of a collision
- the number of collisions in the first place
Background
- June 8, 2026: The associated bylaw amendments to lower the speed limit were approved for adoption.
- March 23, 2026: Council approved lowering the posted speed limit to 30 km/h as described in the February 17, 2026, report, “Proposed Approach to Lowering Speed Limits”.
- December 17, 2025: At the Public Works & Transportation Committee meeting, staff received direction to look at the possibility of reducing speed limits on non-arterial roads to 30 km/h.
transportation@richmond.ca 604-204-8707