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Beacon Hill-Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney has convinced the transportation committee to recommend reducing the speed limit on a stretch of Blair Road, even though officials in the public works department say drivers probably won’t slow down unless police step up enforcement.

Tierney wants the speed limit along Blair between Meadowbrook Drive and Innes Road to be reduced to 50 km/h from 70 km/h.

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Blair serves as an arterial street in that stretch, but it’s also home to half a dozen single-family dwellings.

According to Tierney, residents and the area’s community association believe lowering the speed limit by 20 km/h will reduce the travelled speed and make it a safer for everyone in the area.

The public works department, however, says the plan may not work because manual speed surveys conducted on Blair Road show many drivers are exceeding the current speed limit and may not bother slowing down unless there is “significant police enforcement on an ongoing basis.”

If council approves the recommendation on July 8, the department will install new speed limit signs at an estimated cost of about $750.

mpearson@ottawacitizen.com

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