Growing number of B.C. residents support reducing speed limits | Daily Hive

Growing number of B.C. residents support reducing speed limits in their city

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At a time when pedestrian fatalities seem to be discussed and reported more than ever, a growing number of B.C. residents are open to reducing speed limits in their respective cities.

That’s how a majority of people responded to a recent poll on the subject.

Sixty-eight per cent of British Columbians would like to see speed limits reduced to 30 km/h on all residential streets, keeping limits on arterial and collector roads at 50 km/h.

That’s up five points since the last time Research Co. conducted a similar survey back in November 2024.

Support for reductions is particularly high in the Fraser Valley, where 71 per cent of respondents suggested they’d support a reduction to 30 km/h on residential streets, up nine points since the last poll. Support is also high in Northern B.C., where 70 per cent of respondents support the policy and in Metro Vancouver, where 69 per cent support it.

There are precedents for this change.

Speed limits have changed in some B.C. cities

In 2019, the City of Vancouver passed a motion for a pilot project to reduce speeds to 30 km/h on specific streets. Then, in June 2025, Vancouver City Council also passed a decision to reduce speeds on local streets to 30 km/h.

In response to that change, many shared their thoughts, with sentiments ranging from the change being overdue to others saying that changing speed limits wouldn’t slow drivers down.

Some said that without enforcement, speed limit changes wouldn’t make a difference.

“This won’t do a thing to slow down drivers unless the VPD steps up and charges every driver who is 20 km/h above the speed limit,” one commenter said.

Surrey has also made some changes to speed limits in select areas. Richmond has also done the same in some neighbourhoods.

Research Co. also looked at the sentiments on speed limits from specific demographics.

“Three-in-five British Columbians aged 35 to 54 (60 per cent) think it is a good idea to reduce speed limits on local streets,” says Mario Canseco, president of Research Co., in a release.

“Agreement is higher among those aged 55 and over (66 per cent) and those aged 18-to-34 (77 per cent).”

Two-in-five people say they see cars going above the 50 km/h limit at least once a day, while about a third of respondents said they see it happening a few times a week.

“Speed-on-green intersection cameras, or red light cameras that also capture vehicles that are speeding through intersections, are currently being used in 140 intersections across the province,” Research Co. says, adding that over 70 per cent of respondents approve of automated speed enforcement.

In 2024, an advocate for safer streets called for automated speed enforcement on the Stanley Park Causeway and Lions Gate Bridge to improve safety.

The advocate, Bruce Rose-Innes, suggested that traffic events could be prevented if fewer people sped on the causeway and bridge.

“Speeding doesn’t just endanger lives; it wastes time. The hours we lose to collision-induced congestion must far exceed the scant time savings from driving faster,” Rose-Innes said.

“There is a simple solution. If would-be speeders on that corridor knew that a speeding ticket was not just a remote possibility but an inevitability, they would soon change their behaviour,” he added.

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With files from Daniel Chai and Kenneth Chan