City launches traffic calming pilot project in two neighbourhoods

The City of Saint John has launched a pilot project to help calm traffic in two city neighbourhoods by targeting excessive speeding and encouraging residents to be cautious and drive safely.

Work has begun to install speed cushions along McNamara Drive in East Saint John and Cedarwood Drive in Millidgeville. These streets were identified as high risk based on results from a comprehensive speed and volume analysis that was completed within the last two years Work to identify a potential third street to include in the pilot project is currently underway.

“Many Saint John residents are letting us know they are concerned with excessive speeding and the impact it has on the safety of their neighbourhoods,” says Tim O’Reilly, Director of Public Works for the City. “We are pleased to launch this pilot project and, based on the results, are hoping to expand these safety measures to other neighbourhoods.”

Speed cushions are commonly used to combat speeding and encourage traffic calming while minimizing impacts to other road users including emergency vehicles, buses, and cyclists.

The pilot project will run into the Spring of 2024 and will measure speed reduction in these two neighbourhoods. If successful, this will become an ongoing, expanded initiative to increase safety measures on more streets and neighbourhoods through the city.