Fredericton to add traffic-slowing speed cushions to 3 more streets

Speed cushions aimed at slowing the flow of vehicle traffic are coming to three more streets in Fredericton this year.

Fredericton staff plan on spending about $50,000 to have the speed cushions installed on MacLaren Avenue, Montgomery Street and Fulton Avenue, said traffic engineer Tyson Aubie, speaking Thursday to the city's mobility committee.

"McLaren Avenue is a street that we received lots of complaints on over the years," said Aubie, describing the street that ranked No. 1 in the priority list for traffic-calming measures.

"It's very straight. Quite often it's a little bit of a a shortcut from Union Street, so some of the traffic volume that's on there could be that people are trying to avoid Union. So that's something we're discouraging."

Aubie said the city uses a scoring system to determine which streets would benefit from speed cushions to slow the speed of traffic. While similar to speed bumps, speed cushions are designed with a gentler gradient that encourages slower driving, while not being an impediment to emergency vehicles, he said.

The city scores streets based on factors including the number of accidents recorded in a given year, as well as how fast motorists are observed driving on them.

Street has become 'raceway', says councillor

MacLaren Avenue is a largely straight stretch of road measuring about 1.5 kilometres between Cliffe Street to the west, and Gibson Street to the east.

Aubie said eight collisions were reported there last year. 

Despite the speed limit being 50 km/h, an analysis revealed that 85 per cent of motorists observed over a specific period were seen driving at or below 58 km/h.

Ward 4 Coun. Jocelyn Pike said MacLaren Avenue — located in part of her ward — was relatively quiet until recently.

"I think a lot of folks were not using MacLaren Avenue during the COVID time frame and working from home, but now it's really become a raceway," she said.

"So [I'm] really happy to see that MacLaren Avenue is now going to get their speed bumps."

Success on Douglas Avenue

Aubie's presentation to council also included results from the installation of speed cushions on other streets last year.

Those included Douglas Avenue, which was the scene of a high-speed crash that killed three young people in May.

Aubie said an analysis by city staff found that prior to the installation of speed cushions, 85 per cent of motorists drove at or below 52 km/h, a figure that dropped to 49 km/h after they were installed.

"[The difference] is meaningful and significant," Aubie said. "What we're trying to get is people to drive the speed limit, so overall, at the highest point, people are driving the speed limit."

Douglas Avenue runs through the ward of Coun. Bruce Grandy, who also chairs the mobility committee.

He said there was initial resistance to the speed cushions, with concerns about damage to vehicles, and slower commutes.

Since then, he said most people have adapted to the change, and appreciate the slower pace of traffic.

"I think with the speed lower, it's a lot safer," he said.