Subscribe
Back to Search
City Council has approved reducing the speed limit along two major roadways and one key intersection, at the October 4 Council meeting.
The area immediately east and west of the Highway 9 and Queen Street Intersection, and all of Queen Street from Highway 10 to Highway 9 will be reduced to 70 km/h. The portion of Highway 9, south of the York Road intersection that is currently 70 km/h will also be reduced to 60 km/h.
Further to the speed reduction, radar speed signs will also be installed on Highway 9, north and south of the intersection. The speed reduction is an effort to help reduce accidents at the intersection until it can be fully upgraded.
"This intersection is definitely a priority, but since the location falls within the Urban Highway Connector program (UHCP), the costs must be shared and there must be agreement between the City of Yorkton and Ministry of Highways with regards to selection of upgrade options," said Rene Richard, Director of Engineering and Asset Management.
The City hired a traffic engineering consultant to study the intersection and provide options. The options suggested in the traffic study were full signalization or a traffic circle. City staff performed cost estimates which were presented to Council during the most recent budget deliberations. That preliminary cost estimate indicated that the signalization of the intersection would cost approximately $1,900,000, and a traffic circle would cost approximately $3,300,000. These estimates were preliminary and for discussion purposes.
City staff has obtained a proposal from a traffic engineering firm to further develop and verify the cost estimates for both signalization and traffic circle options. "We trust that once the cost estimates have been refined and verified, discussion with the Ministry can continue for the selection of an option (signalization or traffic circle), and then all that will remain for the upgrades to proceed will be negotiations for the cost share percentage and timing of the project (budgets)," said Richard.
In addition, the decision to move forward with the speed limit reduction on Highway 9 between Broadway and York Road will create an advantage for traffic to still utilize Queen Street instead of Highway 9 and York Road. The City has recently received complaints with regards to engine retarder brake noise on Highway 9 between Broadway and York Road.
The lower speed limit combined with additional signage would also hopefully lesson the usage of engine retarder breaks near the residential area of Highway 9 where the complaints have originated.
New speed limit signage is expected to be installed within the next two weeks.
