File Photo (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By James Peters

Traffic Calming

Kamloops council puts the brakes on 30 km/h pilot project

Jan 21, 2026 | 10:41 AM

KAMLOOPS — A pilot project that would have seen the speed limits on streets in two Kamloops neighbourhoods reduced to 30 km/h has stalled out.

At a Committee of the Whole meeting Tuesday (Jan. 20), council opted against the pilot proposed by the city’s transportation department and brought forward by the Livability and Sustainability Select Committee.

The proposal would have seen speed limits reduced in the Sagebrush neighbourhood and the area surrounding McDonald Park on the North Shore. For several months, city staff would have set up signage, education and enforcement, and studied whether drivers were complying with the 20 km/h reduction.

“We want to see what will happen in a neighbourhood if we reduce the speed to 30 km/h,” argued Councillor Nancy Bepple, who touted the city’s success in rolling out past pilot projects. “The transportation department has come up with some very concrete ways of finding out whether we can make life better in neighbourhoods.”

Staff budgeted $130,000 per neighbourhood for the project for a total of $260,000.

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At Tuesday’s committee meeting, several councillors argued the dollars would be best spent in more concrete methods of slowing drivers down — especially in school zones.

“If you want to get the best safety on our roads in our city, let’s slow down the people who are going past Valleyview elementary schools (and) Parkcrest (Elementary School),” said Councillor Bill Sarai. “That’s where you’re going to get the most buy-in from our parents, from our residents.”

“I can’t support doing a pilot project for something that is going to, in my opinion, not really give us any new information,” added Councillor Margot Middleton, who lives in the Sagebrush neighbourhood. “I would rather see the money spent on physical calming measures to try to slow the traffic down.”

After the proposed pilot project was defeated, Transportation Manager Purvez Irani told council the $260,000 budget need not be redirected to traffic calming measures such as speed humps, curb bulges and medians. Irani noted as part of the Vision Zero Kamloops Road Safety Strategy adopted in 2023, his department is forming a traffic calming policy in consultation with Kamloops neighbourhoods.