Reducing Vehicular Speed in Montreal By : Daniel lbouchard Transportation Seminar McGill University i 3/4/2010
Increase in the number of car trips in greater Montreal 1200000 The number of cars 1000000 increased by 10% 800000 between 1998 and 2003 600000 whereas the population grew only by 3%. 400000 200000 The car s modal share 0 increased by 0.9% over this five-year period. 1987 1993 1998 2003
Increase in the number of registered vehicles and in the number of bridge crossings The number of registered vehicles in Montreal went from 748 959 in 1999 to 827 479 in 2006, a 10.5 % increase. The average daily flow on bridges around Montreal went from 1 182 000 in 1999 to 1 284 000 in 2006, an 8.6 % increase.
How to reduce vehicule speed What are the solutions to reduce vehicule speed? Police surveillance Speed limit reduction Consciousness-raising campaigns Traffic-calming measures
Police surveillance Montréal hired 133 new police officers in 2006 The total number of tickets went from 334 449 to 581 250
Relationship between accidents and number of tickets issued by police in Montreal 2005 2006 2007 Number of collisions with injured people 406 430 307 Number of collisions with severely injured pedestrians 178 183 129 Number of deaths 57 56 38 Number of collisions with deaths 54 54 38 Number of pedestrians deaths 24 27 24 Number of infraction statements 334449 542608 581250
Fatal Accidents T t l f f t l lli i Total of fatal collisions Pedestrian victims Cyclist victims
Serious injury victims Collisions with serious injury victims Severely injured pedestrians Severely injured cyclists SPVM Bilan annuel 2008
Medical Progress «... the health care services offered to victims of collisions have advanced considerably. Pre-hospitalization services are provided more promptly and are more appropriate, referral systems to designated hospitals have been established, new medical technologies have emerged, and so on, [ ] appreciably reducing their after-effects. Today, only 8% of serious road accident injury victims die, six times less than 10 years ago». DSP : Annual Report 2006
Total collisions Evolution in the number of accidents, deaths and injuries, 2006-2008 ACCIDENTS BY TYPE AND SEVERITY 2006 2007 2008 % 2008 VS 2007 Fatal accidents (Deaths) 54 (56) 38 (38) 33 (33) -13,2% Pedestrians deaths 27 24 18-25% Cyclists deaths 5 4 2-50% Accidents with serious injuries 431 307 220-28,3% Accidents with minor injuries 6415 6021 5217-13,4% Accidents with material damage only 28046 30465 31629 3,8% Total 34946 36831 37099 0,7% Source: SPVM; SAAQ, Bilan 2008
Who was affected by the increase in the number of infraction statements? The number of infraction statements issued to drivers not respecting gpedestrians diminished by 2 % (from 43439 to 42 579) The number of infraction statements issued to pedestrians increased by 245 %(f (from 5104 to 12521) Do we want to penalize pedestrians?
Speed limit reduction «L'année 2009 sera celle où la limite de vitesse dans les rues résidentielles locales sera abaissée de 50 à 40 km/h..» In 2009, speed limit in local residential streets will go down from 50 to 40 km/h Ville de Montréal Bilan 2008-2009 du Plan de transport
Speed and braking times
Speed and injury severity De 5 à 10 % des piétons heurtés par un véhicule roulant à 30 km/h au moment de l'impact mourront; à 50 km/h, le taux est de 45 %; il atteint 85 % pour une vitesse de 65 km/h. Retenons que la probabilité de décès augmente très rapidement (exponentiellement), même pour des écarts de vitesse relativement peu importants (ex. : 10 km/h de différence). From 5 to 10% of pedestrians hit by a car going at 30 km/h at the time of the impact will die; at 50 km/h, the rate is of 45% and reaches 85% for a 65 km/h speed. It should be remembered that death probability increases rapidly (exponentially), even for relatively l small speed variations i (i.e. a 10 km/h /hdi difference). Guide de détermination des limites de vitesse
Impact studies of speed limit reduction on drivers behavior and safety «.. la baisse indue de la limite de vitesse n a pas d effet probant sur le comportement des conducteurs. Cette analyse est d ailleurs corroborée par le sondage d opinions réalisé auprès des résidants riverains dans la mesure où ils constatent que la situation ne s est ni améliorée, ni détériorée à cet égard». The undue decrease of speed limit has no convincing effect on drivers behavior. What s more, this analysis is confirmed by a survey conducted with neighbourhood residents; they note that the situation did not improve nor worsen in this respect. Those results are coherent with studies by Morand (1995), Ullman and Dudek (1981) as well as Wilmot and Khanal (1999). All those researchers agree on the fact that actual driving speeds did not change after the speed limit reduction.
Consciousness-raising campaigns Road safety is one of the only fields where we still blame the victim i (obesity, rape, etc.) Many studies show that most accidents are not caused by drivers or pedestrians behavior but rather by malfunctioning road design.
Consciousness-raising campaigns Consciousness-raising campaigns on road safety are useful only if combined with efficient road design.
Traffic-calming measures Traffic-calming measures are street design interventions intended to modify drivers behavior and to better manage traffic by modifying routes and traffic flows. The street design therefore dictates the right behavior for the driver to adopt.
4 types of traffic-calming measures Vertical detour Horizontal detour Obstacle Road signs
Vertical detours
London, United Kingdom
London, United Kingdom
Waverly and Groll, Plateau-Mont-Royal
Horizontal detours
Cardiff, Wales (UK)
Cardiff, Wales (UK)
Cardiff, Wales (UK)
Manchester, United Kingdom
San Francisco, USA
Waverly and Bernard, Plateau Mont-Royal
Davaar, Outremont
Earncliff and Guillaume Couture Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce
Obstacles
London, United Kingdom
Bath, United Kingdom
Berri and St-Grégoire, Plateau-Mont-Royal
Modification of traffic flows
Dublin, Ireland
Distribution of urban space among different Distribution of urban space among different modes
London, United Kingdom
Bath, United Kingdom
Rijswijk, Netherlands
Boul. Mont-Royal, Ville-Mont-Royal
Obstacles to the implementation of trafficcalming measures Main obstacles Technical difficulties Costs Social acceptability Efficiency
Technical difficulties
Costs Pedestrian overpass (from 20 000 to 75 000 $) Sidewalk extension (from 5 000 to 10 000 $) Speed bumps (from 1 000 to 5 000 $) Guide canadien d'aménagement de rues conviviales What elements are included in the cost? (machinery, labour, material) How much would traffic-calming measures cost if they were implemented while there are roadworks? (a very small proportion of the total t project cost)
Social Acceptability «... il faut consulter la population et comprendre l'historique des problèmes de circulation du quartier. Dans certains cas, des 'solutions' ont été élaborées sans participation suffisante de la population et en conséquence ont fait l'objet d'une opposition qui a empêché leur mise en application ou a conduit à leur enlèvement». It is important to consult population and to understand the history of circulation i problems in the neighbourhood. h In some cases, solutions were elaborated without sufficient public participation and consequently raised strong opposition which restrained their implementation or lead to their removal. Guide canadien d'aménagement de rues conviviales
Efficiency of traffic-calming measures Average speed reduction (km/h) Speed bump and zigzag Speed bump Zigzag Central narrowing Lateral narrowing with marking
Efficiency of traffic-calming measures Flow reduction (%) Pedestrianization Center divider strip Transformation into one-way road Diagonal divider strip
What is happening in the borough?
Coalition pour la réduction et l apaisement de la circulation Over 50 citizens groups or notfor-profit organizations have regrouped in Montreal to request for traffic reduction and traffic-calming calming measures.
Thank you For more information : Daniel Bouchard Directeur des campagnes sur le transport Conseil régional de l'environnement de Montréal 454, avenue Laurier Est Montréal, Qc, H2J 1E7 Téléphone 514-842-2890 2890 poste 230 Télécopieur 514-842-6513 dbouchard@cremtl.qc.ca www.cremtl.qc.ca