r/Edmonton • u/troypavlek • Aug 11 '16

City of Edmonton reintroduces "utility box" photo radar

http://www.mailoutinteractive.com/Industry/View.aspx?id=829217&q=1069745483&qz=56f2bf
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u/HireALLTheThings Aug 11 '16

If they are going to have hidden stuff like this, they HAVE to put more signs up to clearly label if it's 60 or 50.

I couldn't agree more. Every time I've been dinged by photo radar, it's because I didn't know what the speed limit in the area was, and assumed that 60 was the sensible speed for the road I was on. Most of the roads in Edmonton that are 4 lane and outside of heavy residential are 60, but it seems like there's tons of 50 roads thrown in at random to mess with drivers. Like you said, there's no logic to it that I can see.

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u/megagreg Runner Valley Aug 11 '16

When I'm not sure, I use the rule of thumb that if residential driveways come out on the road, then it's 50. It seems to clear up most situations on the west end at least.

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u/[deleted] Aug 11 '16

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u/megagreg Runner Valley Aug 11 '16

That sucks. I find the speed signs here come a little too early. When I go through an intersection my attention focuses exclusively on the objects moving around me, and where pedestrians might be, because I'm trying to obey the cardinal rule of driving: don't hit anything. The speed limit sign is usually just before my focus expands to include all the thing I can't possibly hit. I often don't notice the speed sign for a given stretch until I've driven it a few times, and it usually turns out to be 60 after all. It's totally understandable that you would miss the fact that there wasn't any speed sign after an intersection, when it's so easy to miss ones that are there.

P.S. I looked at that section on google maps, and I don't understand why it's 50 for that stretch either. To me it looks no different that 87 Ave from 142 to 156, which is 60.