Motorists might want to ease off the gas pedal while driving through Victoria as slower speed limits are posted on a number of streets.

Beginning this week, new limits of 40 kilometres an hour will be in place for a number of roadways including:

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• Richmond Road between Fort Street and Crescent Road

• Southgate Street

• Quadra Street

• Bay Street between Blanshard Street and Richmond Road, and Esquimalt Road and the Point Ellice Bridge

• Douglas Street between Belleville Street and Dallas Road

• Gorge Road

• Richardson Street between Cook Street and Gonzales Avenue

• Roadways within the area described in the Official Community Plan as the Downtown Core, except for Blanshard and Douglas streets.

The speed limit on Cook Street between Southgate Street and Dallas Road is to be reduced to 30 km/h from 50.

Victoria councillors unanimously agreed in July to reduce the speed limits. A majority of residents at a town-hall style public hearing supported the changes.

The lower speed limits began as an initiative of Coun. Ben Isitt and former councillor Shellie Gudgeon, who had hoped to see speed limits reduced in urban centres throughout the province.

But the two failed in an attempt to have the Union of B.C. Municipalities adopt a resolution that would have asked the province to make 40 km/h the default urban speed limit in the province.

City staff have estimated the cost of signs and the accompanying public information campaign to be about $90,000.