Slowing down in the Burnaby Heights and Capitol Hill area is now required by law.
Speed limits in the neighbourhood north of Hastings Street went down to 40 km/hr as of Sept. 1.
The residential speed reduction pilot project is one of the city's attempts to solve traffic problems in the area, specifically "rat racers" driving along residential streets through North Burnaby, to and from Vancouver.
The city sent out a notice to area residents last week letting them know of the new limit.
The new speed limit zone is between Boundary Road and Fell Avenue, and Hastings Street and the Burrard Inlet.
This speed limit reduction trial was approved by Burnaby city council at a council meeting in January 2011, according to Leah Libsekal, transportation planner for the city.
New speed limit signs have been installed throughout the negihbourhood, Libsekal told the NOW in an email.
School and playground zones will stay 30 km/h, and a portion of Carleton Avenue will now be a 30 km/h zone, as well, she said.
"The Sea to River Bikeway located on Carleton Avenue in this neighbourhood will be signed at 30km/h north of Hastings Street," Libeskal said.
Speed enforcement in the area will be done through the RCMP, she added.
The project will be reviewed in a year.
The first stage of Burnaby's traffic improvement plan for the neighbourhood, developed from recommendations made in September 2010, included the reduced speed limit trial; curb bulges for three Albert Street intersections; continued education and enforcement of traffic laws in the neighbourhood; con-tinued support for upgrading residential roads; and a periodic review of Hastings Street signal timings.
Council approved more safety measures for the area last year, as well.
Those traffic management measures include:
? Working towards future left-turn lanes at Gilmore Avenue;
? Developing criteria for Local Area Service Program (LASP) speed humps on residential streets at highpriority locations;
? Developing criteria for city-funded raised sidewalks on local collector streets at high-priority locations;
? Developing criteria for city-initiated LASPs for sidewalks at high-priority locations;
? Completion of a parking review for the neighbourhood;
? Reconfiguring the Cambridge Street and Gamma Avenue intersection from six legs into four; ? and putting in a marked crosswalk across Willingdon Avenue at Pandora Street.
The city's transportation committee recommended against increasing the current hours of the HOV lanes on Hastings street, or putting in road closure barriers, due to feedback from the public, according to a city report released last year.
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