Dawson Road speed limit now matches sign

The road to Richer now has a speed limit of 70 km/h, which now means drivers going over the 70 km/h posted on the speed limit sign will actually be speeding.

“It’s not enforceable the way it is by not being included in the bylaw,” explained RM of Ste Anne CAO Mike McLennan to council ahead of their passing a new speed limit bylaw.

Most of Dawson Road is provincially controlled, but a short portion from Provincial Road 207 towards Richer is the responsibility of the RM.

The oversight was noticed after the speed limit of Duhamel Road 36N east of Steinbach’s Loewen Boulevard was set to be changed to 70 km/h as well.

“As advised by the province, we also noticed a small oversight in relation to Dawson Road, on a municipally controlled portion of Dawson Road where it is signed as 70 but the bylaw did not include it, and therefore it defaulted to 90 as a result of not being included in the schedule in the original bylaw,” explained McLennan.

Council voted to make the change and the speed limits are now the law.

To help people be more aware of the speed limits around the RM, a new sign will soon be picked up from Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) and placed at a high traffic area to be determined. It is part of a new speed display sign program, according to McLennan.

“This program was launched through MPI to increase driver safety by informing them of their current speed in relation to the posted speed for the area with the intent of drivers slowing down and increasing safety. The signs capture vehicle counts, speed and time of day (but no personal info like license plates, vehicle make, etc.), and will help the RM when it comes to focusing driver education/evaluating speed limits, etc.,” responded the CAO.

Several RMs applied for the program but not all received a sign. New applications are being accepted this fall, according to RM of Stuartburn Reeve Michelle Gawronsky, who hopes her RM gets a turn at a sign next.

The RM of Ste Anne was chosen as a good location first.

“The signs are owned by MPI and are loaned to municipalities at no cost. The RM applied to the program with the hopes of increasing driver safety on our roadways,” said McLennan.

Council also voted to create a permanent no truck route on Road 45N between Road 39E and the TransCanada Highway service road.