Leduc Mayor suggests additional enforcement of QEII speed limit

speeding, QEII

Editor's note:  Full text of the mayor's comments to the province were provided by the City of Leduc communications department.  Those comments are below.  Mayor Young read an abbreviated version of this message at the May 6 meeting of Leduc city council.  

Remarks from Mayor Robert Young at Council Meeting of May 6, 2024

Earlier this year, City Council sent a letter to Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors to advocate for a permanent speed limit reduction on QEII through the City of Leduc. Our letter requested a speed reduction from 110 km an hour to 80 km an hour. 

We have now received a response from the province on the matter and unfortunately, the province has denied our request.  

After receiving our letter, the province conducted another speed limit review of Highway 2 through the City. Alberta Transportation has indicated this review resulted in the same conclusion as their 2022 assessment – that 110 km an hour is appropriate. 

Our desire to address excessive speeds along this stretch of highway goes back to 2016. We know motorists speed through this corridor travelling well above the posted speed limit, some of whom are exceeding 150 km an hour. 

So, while 110 km may be deemed safe, many drivers exceed that. 

We also know the stretch of highway that passes through the City of Leduc has a collision rate approximately twice the provincial average for comparable highways – that is divided highways – in Alberta. 

Since construction on the 65 Avenue Interchange has started, drivers are – for the most part – slowing down to the temporary posted speed limit of 80 km an hour, and so we were hopeful this would support our request to re-evaluate and reduce the speed limit permanently. 

While we are disappointed in this outcome, we do appreciate the province has considered our request and conducted another review. 

Moving forward, the City will work with Leduc RCMP and the Traffic Advisory Committee for opportunities for additional enforcement in the Leduc area, and we encourage all drivers to respect the posted speed limits and drive responsibly. 

Mayor Robert Young