Surrey motorists throughout the city will have no reason to doubt they are driving in a school zone after the City of Surrey finishes painting large SCHOOL road signs in black and fluorescent yellow-green at 26 more schools next year.
It’s part of the School Zone Awareness Pilot Program, under the umbrella of Road Safety and Vision Zero Surrey.
It aims to encourage slower vehicle speeds in 30 km/h school zones on roads where speed humps are not appropriate, Scott Neuman, Surrey’s general manager of engineering, wrote in a report before council Oct. 16. The pilot project began in 2017 with testing of “engineering interventions,” he noted.
“Pavement markings can help increase the effectiveness of other engineering speed management interventions, such as speed humps,” Neuman explained. “The size, colour, and presence directly in drivers’ line of vision of the markings helps ensure that drivers are aware that they are entering a school zone and need to slow down.”
He said engineering studies show the pavement markings are effective in reducing average speed and promoting traffic safety compliance and have been “well received by neighbourhood residents and the school community, and requests have been received for expansion of the markings to other areas of the city. Since 2017, the pavement marking pilot project has embraced 23 schools and city staff are now planning to install SCHOOL pavement markings at Surrey’s remaining 26 public and independent elementary schools in Surrey with 30 km/h zones on collector and arterial roads in Spring 2024.
“This is anticipated to improve road safety at these schools by helping ensure drivers are aware of the school zone and encouraging slower speeds,” Neuman reports. “It will also improve consistency throughout the city, as drivers will see the same treatment at all schools fronting busier roads, which is in turn expected to help improve compliance and aid enforcement.
