Variable speed limit signs now on three BC highways
Posted June 2, 2016 11:23 am.
Last Updated June 2, 2016 3:26 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) -Three highways in our province are set to be the testing ground for variable speed limits.
Stretches of the Coquihalla, Sea-to-Sky and the TransCanada Highway near Revelstoke now have these new variable limits in place.
They’ll be shown on digital signs that will adjust speed limits down when it’s snowing or raining heavily.
“I think variable speed limits are good at informing motorists who aren’t familiar with roadways what the appropriate safe travel speeds are on those roads. Particularly, for tourists who just aren’t familiar with BC roads,” says Michael Cain with the drivers advocacy group Sense BC.
But Cain’s support for the signs is conditional on how closely they’re monitored and updated.
“The success of the variable speed limit in B.C. here is going to depend upon how judiciously they’re operated, and whether the operators are setting them accurately and quickly in response to the variable conditions we see,” says Cain. “The signs need to represent the true safe travel speeds in order to be effective.”
Cain says his group will be watching to ensure the system adjusts speed limits in a timely and appropriate way.
