November 18,2025
RED FM News Desk
The City of Surrey is lowering speed limits and pushing the provincial government to update legislation so the default speed limit on roads can be reduced to 40 km/h.
On Monday night, November 17, City Council approved changes that will generally reduce speed limits on arterial roads from 70 km/h to 60 km/h, except on certain key regional routes through agricultural areas where there is low potential for traffic conflicts.
The city will also review non-Major Road Network (MRN) arterial roads currently posted at 60 km/h—especially those in urban centres or high-conflict areas—to see if they should be lowered to 50 km/h based on nearby land use, pedestrian activity, or collision history. These details come from a corporate report by Scott Neuman, Surrey’s general manager of engineering.
In addition, collector roads posted at 60 km/h will be lowered to 50 km/h, while local roads will remain at 50 km/h, consistent with the 2023 Slow Streets Pilot. Surrey will also continue urging the provincial government to change the legal default speed limit to 40 km/h.
Key local bikeways and areas around schools and parks will be evaluated for even lower limits—typically 30 km/h—where pedestrian activity or density makes additional safety measures necessary. Speed bumps will be installed on all local roads bordering schools and parks, spaced at least 100 metres apart.
These changes stem from the Vision Zero Surrey Safe Mobility Plan (2019), which aims to eliminate deaths and serious injuries on Surrey’s roads.
Since 2022, Surrey has made several safety upgrades: 39 new traffic signals (25 full signals and 14 pedestrian signals), 10 roundabouts and traffic circles, 41 protected left turns, five flashing crosswalks, 114 speed bumps, 50 new crosswalks, 3,100 LED streetlight upgrades, and construction of seven kilometres of sidewalks and 45 kilometres of protected bike lanes.
Neuman added that Surrey’s Traffic Management Centre now uses live data from over 600 cameras and Google alerts. Staff review more than 500 incidents each month, including six to seven collisions involving vulnerable road users that are captured on video. About 55% of pedestrian collisions at traffic signals involve left-turning drivers, and more than 75% involve turning traffic in general.
A 2023 pedestrian safety study found that around 70% of pedestrian collisions occur on arterial roads, even though those roads make up less than 20% of Surrey’s network. Most crashes occur at signalized intersections, and 39% happen in dark or low-light conditions. These findings have influenced new standards for road design, lighting, and corridor planning.
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