This article has been republished with the permission of Albert
Koehl Lowering limit by 10 km will save lives and rescue the
planet Imagine a candidate in the mayoral race who promises to
make the streets safer, improve air quality and reduce traffic
congestion. Imagine a candidate who says these promises can be
kept without increasing taxes. A city with our problems should
welcome such a candidate. Every day in Toronto, about 150
collisions involving motor vehicles leave dozens of people
injured. We’ve heard the numbers before: more than 400 residents
die prematurely each year as a result of car and truck
pollution, and traffic congestion costs us billions of dollars
annually because of delays in moving people and goods.
Fortunately, complex problems don’t always require complex
solutions. Lowering the speed limit on city roads by 10 to 20
kilometres per hour might sound revolutionary to some, but a
movement for 30-km streets has already met success in a number
of European cities. Toronto has lowered posted